In this blog "How to attract Eastern Bluebirds to Your Yard" we'll share our recommendations for food, water and housing for these beautiful birds!
The Male Eastern Bluebird is truly an amazing sight to behold. With the bright orange breast and nearly-neon Blue head, wings, and tail, not many other species stand out this significantly. Bluebirds are very beneficial creatures to have around your garden, eating tons of insects, spiders, and grubs each day.
It’s pretty incredible that this species of birds were nearly wiped out of existence. They have made a strong comeback in many regions though thanks to volunteer efforts and backyard “birders” feeding them and putting out houses for them. Some of the reasons why they were almost wiped out are included below, so keep reading!
What caused the decline in these incredible birds to begin with? Eastern Bluebirds are somewhat unique in that they will not create a new hole in a tree or a cavity in the side of a barn. Naturally, they would seek out vacant woodpecker holes near the edge of a field or pasture. However, the more people clear out old, dead trees on their properties, the fewer trees are available for the birds to move into.
Another more serious issue was that over the years, thousands of people’s pet cats were released into the wild or left to be “outdoor cats”. This was very unfortunate for the bluebirds which often perch only 5-10ft from the ground on fences and low limbs, Eastern Bluebirds were (and still are) easy targets for the average cat which loves to climb and stalk prey near the ground.
You can certainly take part in the efforts to bring them back! Our top 3 requirements for attracting the Eastern Bluebird to your yard are included below:
To attract Eastern Bluebirds, you need to provide the right type of food: While Eastern Bluebirds have been spotted eating suet from a hanging suet cake feeder or from small suet chunks/balls, however, they are most likely to be spotted at your feeder if you put out dried mealworms or live mealworms.
A fresh water source is another requirement for attracting Eastern Bluebirds: You do NOT need to go wild and buy a giant water fountain with multiple tiers and a filtration system. You could, but just imagine how many mealworms you could purchase with the money you save! A simple terracotta plate, 10″ or 12″ in diameter will do nicely. They are fairly inexpensive and can be placed on a wide deck or porch handrail, on a small table, or even on the ground. However, there are some very nice (decent enough) bird baths to be had for under 200.00 also.
Another way to attract Eastern Bluebirds is providing the perfect Bluebird house: The National Audubon Society has a number of downloadable designs so you can print them and go down to your wood shop and build your own house for Bobby and Bella. However, we have done the work for you and also provided a few popular models that are already assembled and ready for hanging. See below! Also, we will add several posts in the future for Birdhouse design requirements. We hope you will view them, build them and share the results with us as also!
Where should I put my new birdhouse though? Relax, we have a lot of insight about this topic as well. We’ll be sure to add another post with these specifics. Our best tip for now though: Bluebirds love to have lots of open space around their nest boxes.
Here are some additional photos of Eastern Bluebirds we have captured in our yard for your viewing pleasure!
