Any day now the bluebirds should be arriving. This picture is from last year.
Baby Bluebirds
Those eyes crack me up. They sure make a huge transformation considering how pretty they are once they grow a little.
Bluebirds
Almost every day I check a few boxes to see if there’s any activity. I know there’s going to be something in a few of them next week. We have 16 boxes and I don’t go too far into the woods when Vince isn’t home but there are over half of them that I can check and feel safe doing it.
Bluebird Box
This one isn’t far from the greenhouse so I check it almost every day. We’ve added tubs of water for them, with a little board that’s hooked to a hinge so if they fall into the water, they can get out. That goes for squirrels and other critters too.
Also, there’s a little cup on the side of the pole and I put mealworms in there once there’s a sign that bluebirds are building a nest in the box.
Last year we had a bigger bird that wanted to nest in one of the boxes and they just pecked and pecked til they made the little bluebird hole big enough. Darned invasive bird! Vince had to put a new front on that box so I’ve been checking it to see if big bird has been back but so far, no evidence of them “renovating” the hole to suit their needs.
Spring is so fun around here.
Krista says
So jealous of those talking about spring. We got over 20″ of snow this week. I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through your spring reports, until sometime in April. 🙂
Pat says
Love the bluebirds! When we grew several acres of bluebirds in the middle of a forested area at my Inlaws farm, we had tons of bluebirds in many shades of blue. We installed many houses that were painted many shades of blue ( long story). I know bluebirds are mostly carnivores, but everyone asked if the color of the bluebird depended on how many blueberries they ate. Thank you for protecting the bluebirds.
Sherrill says
I was around the corner at my longarmer’s house yesterday and as we stood on her front porch yakking, we saw several bluebirds flitting around. Her house faces a cow pasture and along the fence line are several bluebird houses. Guess they were picking out just their digs!! They are SOO pretty!
Dottie N. says
I envy y’all – since we moved back to Texas, I haven’t seen any bluebirds – I’m going to live vicariously through you ;-).
Sherrill says
Where in Texas do you live? I’m in the Ft. Worth area and when the owls moved in around Jan.1, there were about a dozen bluebirds in my tree (trying to scare the owls away!). I never have them in my yard but I do see them a couple of blocks from my house (where the bluebird houses are).
Breck says
What would happen if you went into the woods alone? Are there coyotes? Probably rattlesnakes!
JudyL says
Coyotes for sure but they aren’t mostly out during the day. Same with foxes. We’ve already had one hanging around the house during the day so it was probably sick. There are mountain lions for sure . . we’ve seen those. Lots of rattlesnakes. You just never know. I always take a gun with me but I feel more comfortable going deep into the woods with Vince and there’s no reason for me to go out there alone so why risk it?
As soon as I get about 10′ from the house, my cell phone loses service. There are no neighbors close enough to hear me . . it’s something I choose not to do.
Linda in NE says
Will the bluebirds be scared off by Cat?
A pellet gun might discourage “big bird” from it’s hole enlarging ways.
The coyotes, foxes, etc. wouldn’t keep me out of the woods, the mountain lions on the other hand…………no sense tempting fate. I don’t THINK we have any close to town here, but I do know they are out in the north country where hubby and his brother hunt deer.
Richelle says
I just learned the other day that you can purchase a washer at the local hardware store that is the exact size for the bluebird hole. If it is affixed to the front then other species can not make the hole bigger. In my area it is the squirrels that chew out bigger holes.
Love the bluebirds sitting around the bath!
wanda j says
Judy,
WE just put a thin metal sheet on the fronts of our bluebird house ( around the whole front) . That way it keep snakes, squirrels and other birds for destroying the fronts. Works like a charm. And yes they come in February most of the time and should be here. They were at my old house 3 weeks ago so should be there in Brownwood now. Keep looking. Just make sure you clean the boxes well after each batch and they will keep laying. May lay as many as 3 batches here. It take about 8- hours for dad to build new nest and the same birds come back year after year.