Bluebirds - Any Hosts Here?

[IIowaFarmBoy]

My wife host bluebirds which means we put up boxes and do things to ensure survival. Our neighborhood now has a lot of Blues. Curious is anyone else does this?

Blues almost became extinct at one time. They are fun to interact with. One female comes to visit my wife when she calls her. They will also entertain hosts.

Since eliminating (nearly) sparrows, we get a lot of other songbirds as well.

 

[fredjr82]

 

[QChawks]

what's so special about them?

I have a bunch of bird feeders and cannot say that I've noticed a blue bird before

 

[Rifler]

They're kind of rare in my area,.. might see 5-6 over the course of a season..

 

[IIowaFarmBoy]

what's so special about them?

I have a bunch of bird feeders and cannot say that I've noticed a blue bird before

The human interactions. They eat bugs, not seed. A lot of the time when people feed birds, the sparrow populations grow and sparrows as an invasive not native species will wipe out many song birds, especially blues.

 

[IIowaFarmBoy]

They're kind of rare in my area,.. might see 5-6 over the course of a season..

They will proliferate. Less English Sparrows = More blues and others. We had zero in our area that we notices until we changed the environment. Sparrows will go into boxes and kill mothers and babies. Outside the box, few birds can match their flying skills and defense tactics.

 

[TJ8869]

One female comes to visit my wife when she calls her.

 

[noStemsnoSTICKS]

We have a fair amount of blue jays in our area. My wife puts out food boxes as well. Out here they call them scrub jays. They're a bit aggressive in chasing off the gold and house finch, but leave the larger magpies alone.

 

[Igor Stravinsky10]

Do they sell cookies?

 

[IIowaFarmBoy]

We have a fair amount of blue jays in our area. My wife puts out food boxes as well. Out here they call them scrub jays. They're a bit aggressive in chasing off the gold and house finch, but leave the larger magpies alone.

That's interesting. We have both goldfinches and blues. But we don't put out food. Blues eat bugs. GFs eat our native flower seeds.

 

[HawkinK.C.1]

I don't do anything to support them but have a pair that hangs around on the back fence.

 

[IIowaFarmBoy]

Do they sell cookies?

Only chocolate chip.

 

[QChawks]

The human interactions. They eat bugs, not seed. A lot of the time when people feed birds, the sparrow populations grow and sparrows as an invasive not native species will wipe out many song birds, especially blues.

interesting, I'll keep an eye for them

I get a lot of the usual finches, chickadees, sparrows and cardinals

there is group of doves that have called my house their home for the last several years

 

[Rifler]

We have a fair amount of blue jays in our area. My wife puts out food boxes as well. Out here they call them scrub jays. They're a bit aggressive in chasing off the gold and house finch, but leave the larger magpies alone.

Blue jays are not bluebirds,.. Different bird.

 

[QChawks]

Blue jays are not bluebirds,.. Different bird.

fock those Canadians

 

[noStemsnoSTICKS]

That's interesting. We have both goldfinches and blues. But we don't put out food. Blues eat bugs. GFs eat our native flower seeds.

Most of the gold finch eat the black thistle seed in the cylinder feeders, but some will venture to the boxes. House finch (red bellied) eat from the boxes. The blues love the "no mess" mix she puts out.

 

[noStemsnoSTICKS]

Blue jays are not bluebirds,.. Different bird.

Hey man, I'm just an innocent bystander when it comes to birds.

 

[Rifler]

Hey man, I'm just an innocent bystander when it comes to birds.

It's okay,.. me also.

 

[millah_22]

Wish I had more but I mainly have robin, sparrow, wrens, downey, and cardinal. A couple owls in the neighborhood, though.

 

[QChawks]

the older I get the more I'm into feeding and watching birds

I swear it's a sign that I'm officially old

 

[Rifler]

Mostly sparrows, robins, blackbirds, cardinals, blue jays, goldfinch, wrens, orioles, crows, hawks, & eagles around here...

 

[millah_22]

Wish I had more but I mainly have robin, sparrow, wrens, downey, and cardinal. A couple owls in the neighborhood, though.

I'm looking to get more birdhouses here in the next year or so. Why are they so expensive? I can prob just build one, but I don't really want to.

 

[cfbfan23]

We have tons of bluebirds in my area (Atlanta). I never tire of seeing them. Lots of hawks, woodpeckers and owls, as well.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

We have a box that gets used every year. We see them pretty regularly. I was walking the dog and saw six bluebirds on a neighbor's split rail recently.

 

[Bloody Run Hawk]

We have a house that usually hatches two or three clutches every year. However have had trouble with English sparrows at times. We've had eggs broken and fledglings killed. We have had some luck hanging aluminum foil from Fishing line. Seems to scare sparrows and not bluebirds. If all else fails I let the sparrow nest and cover up the hole with duct tape at night. Sparrow will die within a day.