Home > eastern bluebirds

Tag Archive: eastern bluebirds

Eastern Bluebirds at Red Wing Farm in Chelmsford, MA

May 13, 2010

by

May 13, 2010

Eastern Bluebirds at Red Wing Farm in Chelmsford

On a cool, sunny New England spring morning bluebird love was in the air.

After dropping my son off at school, I visited Red Wing Farm (a great open space in Chelmsford,Massachusetts to bird watch) and was fortunate to observe a pair of Eastern Bluebirds grazing upon fat grubs while perched atop their nesting box.

The bluebirds seemed a bit put off by me at first, but I kept my distance and was careful to keep my movements to a minimum. Soon the bluebirds seemed to forget about me and began to go about their business of collecting grubs and insects, and defending their territory from encroaching tree swallows that had set up a nest in a cluster of nest boxes on the opposite side of the meadow.

The female bluebird sang throughout the morning. She remained perched atop the nest box, bouncing from corner to corner cheerfully singing to her partner as he repeated his dash from tree to tree, snatching insects in mid-flight. Her sweet songs were rewarded with a gift of the fattest grubs of the morning. My reward was being able to watch (and listen) on a beautiful New England spring morning.

Continue reading »

2 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/new-england-living/eastern-bluebirds-at-red-wing-farm-in-chelmsford-ma/

Sunny Meadow Farm Recycled Bluebird Houses

May 7, 2010

by

May 7, 2010

Traditional box style bluebird house

I recently completed a couple of bluebird houses made from discarded fence rails that were “rescued” from a burn pile.

Over April vacation, my sons and I worked with our town’s Open Space Stewardship program to help establish a tree nursery at Sunny Meadow Farm. In addition to the plot used to grow trees for the town’s use, the half acre property includes the Walter F. Lewis Community Garden where residents are given plots of farm land to grow their own crops.

While building a large brush pile that day, I noticed a few pieces of the original horse chewed fence had been stacked in the burn pile. Seeing the beauty of the patina of the boards, which had taken decades to form, and being a big fan of recycling materials, I grabbed a few of the discarded boards and loaded them into my truck.

Peterson style bluebird house
Peterson style bluebird house

Both bluebird houses share functional features such as a pivoting wall for easy clean-out, canopied roof, ventilation and drainage holes, and copper lined entry holes (to prevent predator chew out). I designed one birdhouse in the traditional bluebird box style, and the other in the angled Peterson style.

Continue reading »

1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/new-england-living/sunny-meadow-farm-recycled-bluebird-houses/

Video

30 years of Dedication to Eastern Bluebirds

Follow Bluebird enthusiast Jack Finch as he examines his Eastern Bluebird nest boxes and discusses his 30 years of efforts to help save the Eastern Bluebird from extinction.

Eastern_Bluebird-male

Posted on:
January 28, 2010

Attracting Bluebirds to Your Backyard (video)

December 14, 2009

by

December 14, 2009

Bluebird

Would you like to attract bluebirds to your backyard? The key to attracting bluebirds is having plentiful nesting locations in the right environment. Bluebirds need and prefer open areas, so they can hunt and capture insects, their main source of nutrition.

Bluebird houses are a great way to attract bluebirds. When mounting a bluebird house, be sure to use predator guards and/or baffles to protect bluebirds and their chicks from cats, raccoons, possums, snakes and other predators. Also, realize that other birds like tree swallows will use the house, potentially forcing bluebirds from the house and backyard. Traps are available to capture the invasive birds and relocate them.

Beside providing houses to attract bluebirds berry producing plants, like bittersweet and holly, can be planted to attract bluebirds. Bluebirds eat berries for winter time food. To provide supplemental nutrion, consider offering mealworms. Bluebirds love mealworms, and be sure to whistle or ring a bell when stocking the feeder, because Bluebirds can be trained to respond to calls.

Consider a Bluebird feeder, which requires a bluebird to enter the feeder through a small hole to get to the mealworms. Generally, only the Bluebirds will enter the feeder, conserving mealworms for them and not the other visitors to your yard.

Continue reading »

Leave comment

Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/attract-bluebirds/

Feather eating bugs dull birds colors

August 12, 2009

by

August 12, 2009

Eastern Bluebird

If bluebirds visiting your backyard don’t seem as “blue” as before, researchers may have found the reason – feather eating bacteria. Birds with brightly colored feathers can carry bacteria which eats their feathers. This affects their health and dull their plumage, according to a BBC Earth Report.

Researchers at the Bird Behavior Studies Dept. of Biology at the College of William and Mary, Virginia, surveyed a population of Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) living in Virginia. They found that 99% of all Eastern bluebirds surveyed were infected with feather-degrading bacteria. Furthermore, they found that the greater the concentration of the bacteria, the duller the bluebird’s feathers appeared. The feather-degrading bacteria decomposes the protein beta-keratin, which makes up over 90% of a feather’s mass. They also found that more bacteria equaled poorer body condition, and therby a reduction in the bird’s health, and also their reproductive success.

Continue reading »

2 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/feather-eating-bugs-dull-birds-colors/