Bluebirds of Happiness

Kathleen's bluebird - Chris Meyer

We spend most of our time on Bull Creek where we have a trail of 15 bluebird houses scattered along the field edges.  We see bluebirds throughout the nesting season while maintaining the boxes.  Barb was talking with Kathleen Graves Birdsong recently about her experiences of living with bluebirds in an urban neighborhood and passionately caring for them..  We asked her to share her story in the blog.

"I have enjoyed watching birds since I took a bird watching course in college. When we moved onto 10 acres of open woodland in southwest Springfield I saw the usual birds - robins, cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, titmice. But I would see a flash of blue as early as February - a bluebird.

We had tons of birds and hawks, even though we were surrounded by subdivisions. I put bird seed on the north side of the house, which was rapidly devoured, but no bluebirds.  I put an eastern bluebird house on the south side of the house close to my front door, but again no bluebirds.  I knew the bird house needed to have an opening for bluebirds so other birds did not get in and damage their eggs or chicks - starlings are the worst in my opinion. I also found it was best to place a bird house near a softer spot so if they fall out, they are not injured.

Then I spoke with someone at Wild Birds Unlimited and began my education. Bluebirds do not eat seed. They LOVE mealworms which must be kept in the fridge in a dormant state. Also, my bird house needed to be farther from my house and the feeder I put mealworms in every morning had to be a short distance away.  They suggested that I train my bluebirds every day by feeding at the same time and I needed to let them know I was coming. I began to whistle "Shoo Fly" at feeding time. They also need water to drink so I put in a birdbath.  Being busy I feed at about 7 AM, starting in February or March, whistling on the way. The thing is, they are waiting for me along with robins and cardinals. They battle for the worms and on occasion a blue jay joins in the fight.  I was amazed at how aggressive the pretty little bluebirds could be, diving into other birds.

Last year I had two nestings of eggs which is common for bluebirds, spring and late summer.  When it is rainy, stormy, or in the winter, I did not see them as often. (When they are not nesting, these birds roam the countryside in small flocks. *)  Usually in February I will see them first.  Sadly, I just moved from the 10 acres to down size since my children are grown.  I live in a neighborhood but still have trees and lots of open space so soon I will start again. Wild Birds suggested I walk from my 10 acres to new home, which is not too far away, whistling "Shoo Fly," but my new neighbors would think I was crazy. I did try to educate the new owners of the 10 acres about my bluebirds and I hope they care enough to take care of them. It only took me 10 years to figure all this out!"

Bluebirds went through a bad spell in our country.  They were one of the cavity nesting species common across eastern North America before "us" invaded and became US.  Back in the day dead trees stayed up, filled with cavities created by tree decay or woodpeckers, providing secondary cavity nesters like bluebirds (means they cannot create their own cavities) with mass housing.  The European invasion first brought axes and saws clearing land for crops, felling dead trees and creating a housing shortage.

House Sparrow - Wikipedia

Then in the early 1850s "we" settlers imported  house sparrows (HOSP), aka English sparrows as a novelty.  At first they didn't naturalize or thrive but as they were propagated as a fad over 20 years they spread across the country.  In the 1870s the novelty began to wear off, leading to the "sparrow war" of words among ornithologists reaching a peak in 1878.  By then HOSP were spreading across the country like feathered feral hogs.  See Sialis.org HOSP site.

Invasive starlings and HOSP are aggressive birds known to destroy the nests, eggs, and nestlings of other birds, especially bluebirds.  See Mort Shurtz' story.  Ongoing deforestation and other habitat destruction also contributed to the decline of bluebird populations in the early 20th century.  Populations are now increasing due to education and the spread of bluebird boxes.  Invasive HOSP and starlings are fair game for nest destruction as they are not covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 that protects all native birds except designated game bird species.

Chickadee nest in box

Our bluebird experiences are somewhat different than in urban areas.  Bluebird houses need frequent inspection to clean out abandoned nests and remove wasp nests.  Frequently we find a welcome nest of a chickadee.  They are identified by the moss they use and by the white speckled eggs.  We enjoy their progress and it is illegal to interfere with their nests.




The first sign of bluebird nesting is the accumulation of grass that is then hollowed out quickly.  After several more days we start to see beautiful blue eggs appear a day or two apart until there are five or rarely six.




Then the brooding by the female begins.  When we inspect the box she will usually flush like a quail with a flapping that startles me every time.  On other occasions she will tenaciously sit on the eggs even when we open the box to inspect.  Those times she will never look at us or acknowledge our presence.



The fun really begins when the chicks first hatch.  Naked and bald except for some fluff on top of their heads that doesn't resemble feathers, they initially aren't disturbed by our presence.  Their eyes are closed tightly and there is no movement at all.  By the next day they are responding to any disturbance with gaping mouths, demanding food.  Watch their demands in this video.

Over the next week the only change will be the gradual covering with feathers.  As their eyes open they don't seem to see us as intruders, rather as another potential source of food.  By now both parents are busy collecting crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and beetles for their young.  I suspect Kathleen's mealworms would be like M&Ms to them but our country birds likely have coarser fare.



Over the years, in addition to regularly clearing out wasp nests out of our boxes we have had several other interesting cavity nesters.  A downy woodpecker once created its own side entrance as a winter haven.  This spring's cleaning of boxes exposed a fulvous harvest mouse that had climbed the steel T-post to install its own nest.






You can learn more about building and maintaining your own boxes on Sialis, and Sialis.org is the go to site for all everything Bluebird including what to do with apparently orphan birds found out of their nest.