Video: How to Attract Bluebirds

This Season: Tailgating; New Year, New You; Tax Time

To attract bluebirds in a garden, provide them with birdhouses to raise their young, bird baths or fountains to drink from and berry bushes to feed from. Create a welcoming atmosphere for bluebirds to live with tips from a professional gardener in this free video on gardening.

- Growing Orchids Indoors
- Watering Orchids

Comments

ridetheriver Jul 08, 2009
I have had bluebirds for a few years now and although I cant feed or have fruit trees because of bear problems in my area of Pennsylvania I do enjoy watching them at my water fountain And the birdhouse sometimes attracts house wrens but I enjoy them also
bluebirder Jun 03, 2009
There are some good facts in this video and provides a decent overview of how to attract bluebirds. However there are some things not correct that need to be pointed out: 1. The entrance hole size shown in the video of "no more than 2" is not a good guideline at all. For Eastern bluebirds, the entrance hole should be 1 1/2 inches and for Western/Mountain Bluebirds, the hole size is best at 1 9/16 inches. A 2" entrance hole may allow undesirable species like starlings to nest, as well as mammals like squirrels. 2. The house shown in the video is not good for several reasons. First, the perch on the house should NOT be used as this may attract house sparrows - a highly aggressive, non-native species that can kill bluebird adults and babies. Second, the pole is too high. The house should be about 5 feet so you can easily check the nest. Third, this house looks like it isn't built to be opened easily to perform nest checks. The North American Bluebird Society strongly recommends that all nest boxes be easily opened with a hinged top or side so that you can clean it out AND monitor the nest weekly for nesting problems. 3. It's stated that bluebirds eat sunflower seeds. Bluebirds almost never eat seeds unless they're desperately hungry. Their preferred foods are soft-bodied insects, and fruits/berries. Hope this helps. Kurt Michigan Bluebird Society

Video Transcript

Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen from Vanveenbulbs.com. In this segment we're going to talk about how to attract bluebirds to your garden. Now we all love wildlife. There are so many different animals and birds, that we can enjoy when we have our garden. Whether it's just spending an afternoon looking at the butterflies. Or humming birds in your Crocosmia. There are so many different little birds and animals that we really enjoy in our gardens. And that we want to attract. So Bluebirds are like other birds. There's just a few things that they need to survive. Now you've got remember, in nature out in the wild. You usually find Bluebirds in wide open fields with just a few trees. And there's lots of fruit, berries. A lot of cherries and those apples, all kinds of trees and shrubs that they can live in. They also need a lot of places to raise their young. So in the wild they have old trees. When trees die, they're hollow. So they make their homes inside the hollow trees. Well, in our gardens, we don't usually have a lot of hollow trees. So we can add lib a little bit and enjoy the Bluebirds in our garden, as well. So I might not have a lot of dead logs on my property. But I do have a lot of bird houses. And the key with the bluebirds is, is you don't want the hole to the entrance to the home. To be any larger than 2 inches. Because you don't want larger birds or crows to get in there and attack the babies. Or get the eggs out. And just about two inches seems to be the key. And Bluebirds and sparrows, all love bird houses. And so I've got them all over my property. And it gives them a place to live. And we do have a lot of wold areas in the neighborhood. That they can live, as well. So they seem pretty happy in my garden. The most important feature of your garden to attract birds. Any type of birds, especially Bluebirds, is water. You cannot have birds on your property without water. And the sparrows and the Bluebirds and the Blue Jays just love my little rock water fountain. And even this morning, I saw a lot of them playing in there. And it's so fun to see them. And how much fun they have in the water. And so, make sure if you have any water features. Never ever to add any chemicals. No bleach, no algae reducers. Pretty much nothing. My key is to make sure you do not put them in full hot sun. So they don't get as much algae. And also, I just drain all the water out and put fresh new water in it. Just by adding the hose to it for about an hour, once a week. And that's about enough to keep the water fresh for the birds. Bluebirds also need some kind of a food source. And they love sunflowers and they love all types of berries. Blue berries and black berries and raspberries and cherries. And so if you have a lot of different fruit trees on your property or even wild berries. Or any wild areas near you, they'll be really happy. And I really enjoy all of the Bluebirds on my property. And just by adding some bird houses. Making sure you have some berries and a couple water features. You'll be amazed how the birds will enjoy your property too.

Follow eHow: Follow @eHow

How to Attract Bluebirds

Comments

Related Ads

Related Articles & Videos