Bluebird Boxes

Bluebirds are cavity nesters. Typically, bluebird pairs will hunt for suitable cavities during the late winter in trees, fenceposts, or polls in relatively open areas. Hedgerows with older trees, forest edges on open fields, and streamside trees can all provide what they seek, a hole leading to a protected natural cavity large enough to build a nest. Key to their comeback was the introduction of artificial bluebird “boxes”. The typical design is an unpainted wooden box with an approximately 1.5-inch opening. Other designs include large hollow gourds, terra cotta vessels, and hollowed-out natural logs. Bluebird boxes can be mounted on fenceposts or poles, hung from trees, or attached to the trunk of a tree, but the boxes most likely to successfully fledge young bluebirds have predator guards and are protected from intrusion by the non-native species mentioned above. The direction the box faces is also of great importance. The hole should be facing in an easterly direction into the cooler morning sun and away from the dominant westerly winds and storms.