Bluebird Cultivation

Step 4 Birds in residence

A bluebird will lay a clutch of 4 to 5 eggs, not all of them will hatch every time. Once all the eggs appear, I sprinkle a tablespoon of FRESHWATER (NOT the saltwater type used in swimming pool filters) diatomaceous earth (from eco-friendly gardening supply store) over the top of the nest. This is a non-poisonous material that will kill insects mechanically but not harm the birds, even if they eat it. The pictured hatchlings are losing their fuzz and showing the first sign of feathers. While the adult birds will not be thrilled with someone opening their box, their reaction is just to perch nearby and twitter. Only once has a bluebird buzzed me when I opened the nest box. You can set up a stepstool and allow children to take a quick look in turn, to see the nest built, then a couple weeks later the eggs appear one per day, the hatching a couple weeks later, the rapid growth of the little birds and their final fledging. Once all the eggs are in place, the female will brood the eggs and not want to leave the nest, so it is best to stay away from the box for that couple weeks. During that period, just in case, I give the box a couple taps before I open it, so if she is inside and wants to fly out she will not fly into my face.