Birds of West Cobb has assembled some tips for attracting Winter Bluebirds to your Bird Feeders!
It's no secret that we absolutely love our Eastern Bluebirds. From the very beginning of our bird-feeding adventures and posting our photos for the world to enjoy on Instagram, we hoped that we would see a Bluebird. Within a few weeks or a month, we were lucky enough to have one visit. And then another... and another. Of course it helps significantly that we are very near "The Green Meadows Preserve" (which is located approximately 1 mile from our home.) However, some of our neighbors came to us and asked how we are able to attract so many Bluebirds when they have tried just about everything, and they have rarely seen one in their yard. So we've put some tips together for attracting Winter Bluebirds to your feeders! We hope you find this information helpful!
Tip Number 1: Bluebirds prefer open meadows/fields considerably over forested areas.
If you live in a heavily forested area you will simply not be as likely to see these birds (typically). In the Eastern United States, the (aptly-named) Eastern Bluebird can be found from Canada on the North, throughout the Eastern United States, all the way into Florida to the South. In the Spring and Summer months, Bluebirds can be seen along fence posts, wires or pickets, perched on the roof tops of bird nesting boxes, flying quickly down to grab insects, spiders or worms, and then right back up to feed their young. So if you live near a pasture, farm, or have a large lot with grassy fields nearby, these areas would be your best bet in spotting them during the warmer months.
Tip Number 2: Bluebirds depend on insects, worms, caterpillars and spiders for their high-protein and fat diets.
Once the temperature starts dropping however, the insects that these amazing Eastern Bluebirds depend on for such a large part of their diet start to move much more slowly, eventually not moving at all. These incredible birds hunt primarily by sight, so without the motion, there is much less food obtainable for them. As temperatures approach freezing (or plummet well-below freezing), most birds foraging for insects (especially those in the Thrush family like the Eastern Bluebird) will toss leaves around looking for anything tasty, but there are far fewer morsels to be found. If they cannot find anything appealing, they move on to the next leaf (or next area.)
For those of us that like to feed wild backyard birds this is an excellent opportunity to attract Bluebirds. Adding a high-protein option to your bird feeding offerings such as dried (or live) mealworms, will provide these gorgeous Bluebirds with the nutrition they are lacking and they will come back again and again. Additionally, there are some Suet cakes we can recommend (further down) which also have a large content percentage of mealworms or other insects which woodpeckers and warblers will also enjoy thoroughly. Here are a few photos of Male and Female Eastern Bluebirds captured recently (January 2024) enjoying their mealworms that we put out for them.
Tip Number 3: Bluebirds will eat from multiple types of feeders including platforms, tube feeders, and suet feeders. However, ours seem to enjoy eating from a plate the most!
Now the next most important thing to keep in mind besides their food requirements for protein and fats, is their need for fresh water. Colder air is typically more dry, and birds certainly use a TON of energy trying to stay warm, foraging for food, avoiding predators and even chasing other birds away. So while the food is great (and greatly appreciated we promise), they need to drink water quite often! In the past we only had one water source but found that in the winter months larger birds like Robins, Grackles and Blue Jays will essentially take ownership of the larger bowl/bird bath and so we needed to provide them with at least one more option.
We now have a couple of small hanging iron/glass water bowls (photo below) placed on our front porch, and one Large and one medium Terracotta plate that we use for bird baths on the deck behind our house. Lastly, Lisa thought it was cute to put a tiny 3" water plate out as well and this one turned out to be one of the ABSOLUTE FAVORITES for the Bluebirds as well as smaller birds like Wrens, Chickadees, Waxwings, Titmice, Warblers and even Ruby-Crowned Kinglets.
Product Links for the items mentioned in this blog above:
Dried Mealworms (Please Note: We have found that some brands of "mealworms" are actually marketed more as Chicken feed. Some of these brands will include black soldier fly larvae. We have found through EXTENSIVE testing, that soldier fly larvae is not nearly as popular with the wild birds, so try to avoid those if you want more birds at your feeders! These options below are only dried mealworms, which come from a beetle species and it is very popular with the bluebirds!)
Additionally, we captured a couple of video clips for you of the Winter Bluebirds eating and drinking at our feeders. We hope you enjoy!
