by Burt Glover

It is now midwinter, the time when a fellow’s thoughts turn to… bluebirds. More specifically, to bluebird houses. During February, bluebird couples begin scouting out suitable nesting locations for the spring season. Now’s the time to make sure those houses are clean and ready for new tenants.

Being the landlord of a bluebird house, like everything else these days, has become a somewhat complicated process. It is written that one must check the progress of the nest on at least a weekly basis and —throughout the season — open the box and check out the eggs/chicks with flashlight and notebook in hand…. 

Reading up on the latest advice sometimes leaves me wondering if I should even put up any boxes — but I do. I put up the boxes, taking all of the precautions, just as my parents did for many decades. Then I lift up a prayer for the bluebirds’ success. Through all those seasons, I can count only one catastrophe — a blowfly infestation — which thankfully didn’t repeat.

I do not profess to be an expert in bluebird “houseology”– there is much easily-found advice online from qualified bluebird societies and advocates. I do have some strong opinions, though. Perches — the little peg beneath the entrance hole of the birdhouse — are to be avoided at all costs. Adult bluebirds do not need them. Perches allow predator-type birds to leisurely land at the entrance and easily pluck out a baby bluebird meal. Also, gaily decorated houses with bright colors can potentially attract the attention of hawks and other predators. Keep it subdued.

The main threats to the nestlings are from snakes and raccoons. Take care to trim branches or bushes near the bluebird house — or relocate the house. Snakes are amazing in their ability to extend their bodies across difficult distances to reach a food source. A cone, baffle, or other type guard on the birdhouse pole is necessary to keep snakes, raccoons and other critters from crawling up.

I have been lucky to have a few bluebirds keeping residence in the yard this winter. A bluebird-friendly landscape is key to enjoying their company year-round. Suitable housing, a birdbath, some berry bushes and vines, and a few bugs that happen to hatch out on the warmer days are all that is required in winter.

Some berry-bearing favorites for fall and winter include staghorn sumac, American beautyberry, pokeberry, Eastern red cedar, mistletoe, lantana, smilax and honeysuckle, plus yaupons and other hollies. A bird-feeder with dried mealworms, suet crumbles and/or cornmeal is the icing on the cake for a bluebird.

Come spring, keep in mind that, during nesting season, the primary diet of most backyard nestling and fledgling birds is insects. Take care to avoid pesticides that might eradicate their food supply or potentially work into the food chain and sicken the birds. 

Last thoughts on the housing issue– bluebirds are cavity nesters. Their traditional homes consist of woodpecker holes in trees. The loss of this habitat is one reason why, nearly a century ago, bluebird societies formed and began promoting birdhouses. If you happen to have a dead or dying tree in your yard, and if it is safely possible, do not cut it down– especially if it already has woodpecker cavities in it. Leave it for the bugs and the birds. The bluebirds (and the wrens, nuthatches, woodpeckers and warblers) will thank you for it.

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Contributor Burt Glover became an accidental naturalist during his earliest childhood days exploring the dirt roads, backyards, polo field and barns of the Magnolia-Knox-Mead neighborhood of 1950s Aiken. His first love is birds, and he can identify an impressive range of birds by song alone. He asserts that he is an observer, not an expert, on the topics of his writings, which range from birds, box turtles, frogs and foraging, to wasps, weeds, weather and beyond.