Bluebird Cultivation

Step 1 Bluebird house

I lived in my rural neighborhood for over a decade and never saw a bluebird. Someone gave me a bluebird box, I installed it early Spring, and a pair of bluebirds took up residence. I have cultivated the birds ever since, learning how to get an adult pair to produce up to 3 nests and clutches of eggs, up to 15 new little birds each season. As a direct result, I now see bluebirds all around my neighborhood. Bluebirds are very particular about the size, shape, height and orientation of their nest site. Humans have destroyed the naturally-occuring ones, but you can buy or build one that the birds will use and which other birds will not prefer. The baby birds will thrive best if you take care to keep insects and predators from getting to them. A metal pole mount, rather than a tree or electric pole, will help prevent predation by climbing varmints who make their living eating eggs and small birds. The dome, sold as a squirrel guard for bird feeders, does that and also stops snakes, which can climb a smooth metal pole.