An old legend has it that seeing a bluebird guarantees a day of good luck. At Winding Pathways we’re enjoying daily good fortune because a pair of these delightful birds is raising youngsters in our yard.
In the days of diverse farms with hedgerows separating fields, closely cropped pastures, and wooden fence posts that often had nesting cavities, bluebirds were abundant.
The switch to metal fence posts didn’t help them, and then farms grew larger, hedgerows and posts were ripped out, and pastures and hayfields became oceans of corn and soybeans. None of the changes helped bluebirds just as pesticides eliminated their insect meals.
Fortunately, bluebirds readily move into bird houses, and this spring we erected one in the corner of the only lawn we continue to mow. The box is mounted on a steel post with a predator guard below the house to keep marauding raccoons away from the birds.
We didn’t expect bluebirds to move in. There aren’t many around and they are notoriously fussy about nest sites. Good news came when a pair moved in and raised what’s likely their second brood of the summer.
Bluebirds are fun to watch. Ours perch on the flagpole and a post that holds a big bell at the entrance of our labyrinth. We delight watching them beeline to the lawn and emerge with a tasty bug to feed their youngsters.
Bluebirds nest in suburbia. Anyone with large lawn has fair odds of attracting them. If you erect a box in early spring, remove any “squatting” sparrows, avoid pesticides, and add a predator guard to keep raccoons at bay, you just might attract bluebirds and be assured of good luck.
DID YOU KNOW THAT SOMETIMES BLUEBIRDS CAN BE SPOTTED IN THE DEAD OF WINTER, EVEN IN THE FRIGID NORTH? When cold weather arrives bluebirds shift their diet from insects to frozen and dried fruit. They often moved from grassy to brushy places. Look for them in thickets even in the dead of winter. So be sure to plant fruit bearing shrubs like High Bush Cranberries along with other native species.
For more information about bluebirds or nearly any other species go to Cornell Lab of Ornithology and click on the photo of bluebirds or the species you would like to learn more about.
