What's New
Do Juncos Use Nestboxes?
Q: Do Juncos use nestboxes?
A: Normally, no. But there are rare reports of Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) using open front nestboxes, woodpecker holes and...
Picture of the Week: House Wren Nestlings
Five House Wren nestlings and one unhatched egg, maybe about 2 days old. House Wrens are native and eat a lot of insects, but...
Sperm Storage for Later Fertilization
Quick Tip: A female bird doesn't need to mate once per egg. They can store sperm.
Question: Does a female bird have to mate once...
Featured Articles
You know you’re a bluebirder when…
You consider bluebirds the true harbingers of spring. (Forget about robins!)
The first egg of the year always brings a smile to your face.
You watch...
Cooperative Breeding and/or Care by the Same or Different Species
CONSPECIFIC (or Intraspecific):
Bluebird juveniles or adults may help other breeding bluebirds feed nestlings, remove fecal sacs, defend the nest, etc. See video. This is...
All About Lucy’s Warblers (Leiothlypis luciae) (LUWA)
Contents: Species, Interesting Facts, Identification, Song, Distribution, Preferred Nesting Habitat, Diet, Nesting Behavior, Nestboxes, Nestbox Location, Recommended Distance Between Nestboxes, Monitoring, Nesting Timetable, Longevity,...
Hunting behavior of EABL
A 1973 study of Eastern Bluebird hunting behavior in Ohio had some interesting observations.
Bluebirds like to hunt in areas with mowed grass.
...
Bluebird Basics
Bluebirding Basics
Basics to get you started, including how to recognize nests and eggs, do's and don'ts, and links to more resources
Resources & Links
Adapted from the list posted years ago by Chris (GandiC) on the Nature.net/Garden Web Bluebirding Forum. I am always verifying and adding to...
Wildlife Rehabilitation and Emergency Baby Bird Care
If you find an orphaned or injured bird, do not try to care for it yourself- it is illegal and you will probably end...
Tips & Tricks to Attract Bluebirds
"I want bluebirds!" If they are in your area, but aren't coming to your yard or nestboxes, here are some demonstrated and experimental approaches...
Bird Bios
All about Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) (EABL)
Contents: Species, Interesting Facts, Identification, Song, Distribution, Preferred Nesting Habitat, Diet, Nesting Behavior, Nestboxes, Nestbox Location, Recommended Distance Between Nestboxes, Monitoring, Nesting Timetable, Longevity,...
All About Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) (MOBL)
Contents: Species, Interesting Facts, Identification, Song, Distribution, Preferred Nesting Habitat, Diet, Nesting Behavior, Nestboxes, Nestbox Location, Recommended Distance Between Nestboxes, Monitoring, Nesting Timetable, Longevity,...
All about Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) (WEBL)
Contents: Species, Interesting Facts, Identification, Song, Distribution, Preferred Nesting Habitat, Diet, Nesting Behavior, Nestboxes, Nestbox Location, Recommended Distance Between Nestboxes, Monitoring, Nesting Timetable, Longevity,...
All About Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) (TRES)
Contents: Identification, Interesting Facts, Distribution, Diet, Nesting Behavior, Offering Feathers, Nestboxes, Monitoring, Nesting Timetable, Deterring TRES, and More Info. Also see Photos of nests,...
Egg & Nest Identification
How to tell who is nesting in your birdhouse...
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to your burning questions about birds that use birdhouses or creatures that cause problems...
Bluebird Fact Sheets & Nestbox Plans
Visit the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) to learn more!
Feeding
Diet – What do bluebirds eat?
Also see Planting for Bluebirds | Suet Recipes | Feeding Mealworms | Supplementing Calcium | Invasive Plants to Avoid
What bluebirds eat depends in part...
Feeding Mealworms to Bluebirds
Also see Raising Mealworms | Landscaping for Bluebirds | Feeding Suet
Quick tips: Buy mealworms online for the best price, train bluebirds to come to...
Monitoring
Monitoring Nestboxes (Why & How)
QUICK TIPS: During nesting season (March through August), quickly, quietly and carefully check on nestboxes once or twice a week in the afternoon so...
Cleaning out nestboxes
Quick Tips: Clean out nestboxes as soon as the baby birds fledge, or at a minimum at the end of the nesting season. Never...
Do no harm – the Art of Bluebirding
"Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious, and judgment difficult."
Even though Hippocrates uttered these words more than 2500...
House Sparrows
All About House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) (HOSP) – biology
Contents: Species, Identification, Song, Distribution, Diet, Nesting Behavior, Nestboxes, Monitoring, Nesting Timetable, More Info, and Video Clip of HOSP Attack.
Note: the primary focus of...
Managing House Sparrows (Control)
"Without question, the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology
was the introduction of the English Sparrow."
-W.L. Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, 1903
Warning:...
House Sparrow Trap Reviews
Review of House Sparrow (HOSP) Traps
By Paula Ziebarth (with comments by Bet Zimmerman Smith)
QUICK TIPS: There are two main kinds of traps: in-box traps...
Sparrow Spookers: Designs & Instructions
QUICK TIP: Make a spooker so strips of mylar will flutter over the top of the nestbox (Design #2 or #4 recommended). Install the...
Other Brown Birds
Some brown birds commonly confused with male or female House Sparrows include: American Tree Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Cassin's Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Cowbird, House Wren,...
Nestboxes
Nestbox specifications (floor size, depth, height, width, entrance hole for birdhouses)
One excellent way to help native cavity-nesting birds survive and thrive is to put up a nestbox(es). If are going to make or purchase...
Nestbox Styles: Pros and Cons
THIS PAGE IS EVOLVING. INPUT DESIRED!
Need plan links for some. Need floor dimensions and hole-to-floor depth! More pictures/drawings would be good - but I...
Hole Reducers/Restrictors/Guards
Hole restrictors (also called Hole Reducers, "Squirrel Tooth Benders," Portals or Hole Guards) are used on nestboxes for five purposes:
to keep critters like...
Problems & Solutions
Predator/Problem Identification and Solutions
What Happened? See Guides organized either by Clue, or by Culprit with Solutions. Also see Predator Baffle and Battle Photos. Also see Comparing Pros...
Cats and Bluebirds
Quick Tips: We all know cats kill birds. To prevent cats from preying on eggs/nestlings, keep cats indoors, use a hanging nestbox, a predator...
House Wrens – Discouraging, Wren Guards
QUICK TIPS: Put nestboxes at least 50 and preferably 200-300 feet away from brushy and heavily wooded areas, especially away from areas House Wrens have used in the...
Nest Change How To
QUICK TIPS: Replace a wet or blow fly infested nest by forming a new, cup-shaped nest out of long pieces of DRY grass (not...
Bluebird Widows, Widowers & Orphaned Nestlings
QUICK TIPS: If one or both parents are definitely lost during nesting, monitor closely, provide supplemental food. In an emergency, contact a wildlife rehabber...