How to Attract Bluebirds to Your Yard and Enhance Your Garden’s Productivity

Why are bluebirds so popular in songs? And with gardeners? Of course, because their singing is so iconic, and the sapphire color of the feathers (of the males) is so eye-catching… Even recently, this American songbird has topped the charts, well, not the bird itself, but a track by Miranda Lambert entitled after it… And maybe you want one or two to perch on the branches of your trees and keep you company?

Bluebirds are a great addition to gardens, for their beauty and chirping, but also because they are actually useful to keep your green haven healthy. But do you know how to attract them and keep them safe?

The problem is that bluebirds are very sought after by gardeners, and by your neighbors – so, how can you beat the competition and make sure they pick your garden and not the one next door? Let me show you how…

Why Bluebirds Are Good for Your Garden

There are obvious reasons why bluebirds (Sialia spp.) are good for your garden; because they are beautiful with their blue livery of feathers, and because they sing so well, and loud – I must say… But there is more…

• They are great for pest control; bluebirds’ diet is omnivorous, but mainly carnivorous, so they eat many of the hungry insects and small animals that can infest your garden.
• However, bluebirds also eat small fruits and berries, so they help pollinators with their job and they make your garden more fertile.
• Giving bluebird shelter in your garden is a great eco-friendly move; for your garden as for biodiversity in general.

And now that you have even more reasons to attract bluebirds to your garden, let’s find out how you can do it.

1. Install One (or More) Bluebird-Sized Nesting Boxes

Of course, first of all, if you want bluebirds to call your garden “home”, you need to provide a little house for them where they can set up a family. Well, not little because they are about 8 inches (20 cm) long and they have a wingspan of about 12 inches (30 cm).

So, you need to get a nesting box that they find comfortable, but not too big, or bluebirds won’t pick it… They are choosy when it comes to relocating! So, here are some specifications:

• Choose a nesting box with a floorspace of 4 x 4 inches (10 x 10 cm).
• The height of the box should be 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm).
• The entrance hole should be 1.5 to 1.6 inches in diameter (3.8 to 4.0 cm).
• The hole should be 1 to 2 inches below the roof top (2.5 to 5.0 cm).

Other types of bird boxes will not “please” bluebirds, and they may end up flying off to your neighbor instead…

2. Mount the Bluebird Box at the Right Height

Bluebirds are also picky about “which story” they live on… They don’t like the first floor, nor do they enjoy skyscraper-like heights! So,

Mount the nesting box on a pole between 4 and 15 feet tall 1.2 to 4.5 meters).  Most people like it to be 5 to 6 feet tall (1.5 to 1.8 meters); that’s enough to discourage most predators, like cats, but also manageable and easy to reach for humans.

In fact…

3. Keep an Eye on Your Bluebird Nesting Box

Once you have mounted your nesting box for bluebirds, you should keep an eye on it, till you see that a little blue winged singer is interested…

• Keep it clean.
• Keep it in good conditions.
• Monitor it, but not in an intrusive way, or you will scare off bluebirds.

Now, we need to think about “furnishing” the homes you are providing for bluebirds…

4. Provide Nesting Material for Bluebirds

“Right size, right story, clean and available rent-free,” may think a bluebird, “but how can I furnish my new home?” And you will need to provide the solution, with nesting material for bluebirds, so they can really call your box a “love nest”.

For this reason, provide the leaves of wild grasses and pine needles, but also fine grasses (they line their nest with them), like hay. Coco fiber and shredded jute threads are excellent. They also like to use turkey feathers and horse hair, occasionally, or you could try to tempt them with some cotton.

But you can do all this and still get it wrong, because bluebirds are particular about their neighborhood as well!

5. Mount the Bluebird Nest in the Right Place

You can get the right size and height for the nesting box, but if bluebirds don’t think it is safe and in the right location, they will fly past it… So, keep these in mind:

• Place the nest in an open field, lawn or meadow; bluebirds want to be able to spot predators at a distance.
• Place it far from thick shrubs or densely wooded areas, for the same reason.
• Position the nesting hole so that the entrance faces east or south-east; they like the morning sun to light up and heat up their love nest.
• Place it in a quiet part of your garden, far from your home or busy working areas, and away from noisy roads.
• However, don’t place it in a very sunny and hot position.
• Mount the nesting bird near a water source.

If you have a large garden, keep bluebird nests far apart, at least 100 yards (about 90 meters), because bluebirds are very territorial.

Now, you may say, “But I only have a small garden, where can I put the box?” You can put it in a fairly open position, like in the middle of the loan. What’s more, bluebirds are accustomed to humans, so, even a small distance from your home will be fine, as long as you don’t bother them.

…Which leads me to the next point…

6. Provide a Safe Water Source for Bluebirds

What’s the point in having a home with no water to drink? And it’s no different for bluebirds. For this reason, you should:

• Provide drinking water nearby, on a safe pole, about 5 to 6 foot tall (1.5 to 1.8 meters), or…
• …a large enough birdbath (12 inches or 30 cm across), still on a similar pole; they love it and they can drink from it!

Make sure that the water is clean and that it does not freeze in winter.

And now, let’s think about food.

7. Offer the Right Food for Bluebirds, and They Will Come to eat in Your Garden

You shouldn’t only offer a nice comfortable home and water to bluebirds, but also a little “free restaurant” for them. In fact, one of the first things that will attract these songbirds to your garden is food.

But you need to give them the right food, and as we said, bluebirds are omnivorous, but most of their diet is carnivorous. And your “menu” needs to reflect this.

• Provide the “main course” the “meat”, with mealworms, grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, waxworms and crickets being their favorite dishes.
• Bluebirds love suet! It gives them lots of energy, and you can soak the insects you give them, as well as fruits and seeds we will see next.
• Some fresh fruit will not go unnoticed, especially chopped strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries and raspberries. You can also soak some rehydrated dry fruit, like raisins and currants.
• Plant native shrubs that produce berries that bluebirds like, for example, sumac, serviceberry, holly, elderberry, dogwood and wild grapes.
• Finally, some softened seeds like sunflower seed hearts or peanut butter mixes will add a final sweet touch to their diet (not their main food though).

And now you have the perfect “menu” to attract bluebirds to your garden, let’s talk about your restaurant’s location and style.

8. Choose the Right Feeder for Bluebirds

If your “bluebird restaurant” isn’t safe or spacious enough, these colorful singing birds will look for somewhere else. And there’s a great solution for you…

You can use normal bird feeders on a pole, but there are specific feeders for bluebirds, which you hang, rather than mount. Just make sure they the one you pick has these characteristics:

• It has a cage all around, with bars 1.5 to 1.6 inches apart (3.8 to 4.0 cm). Bluebirds like to protect their food from bigger ones, and with these dimensions, they will be the largest…
• It has a roof on top.
• It is about 8 to 10 inches wide (20 to 25 cm).
• The cage is above 6 inches tall (15 cm).

You can hang it at about 6 to 7 feet from the ground (1.8 to 2.1 meters), under a large branch or on a wire that you run from two posts, your fence, or trees.

And if you don’t want to buy one, it could be a good DIY project for you!

9. Give Bluebirds a Hunting Perch

Visiting bluebirds may not trust that you will always provide food for them… Ok, jokes apart, they like to hunt. And if you provide a hunting perch, they will appreciate your effort!

Just a 4 inch-wide pole (10 cm) in an open space, about 4 to 6 feet tall (1.2 to 1.8 meters) will be enough for them.

10. Protect Bluebirds from Predators – and Your Cats!

Now you have planted poles for the nesting box, for hunting, drinking and maybe even feeding bluebirds, you have also provided predators with something to climb on and attack them! What’s the solution?

You need to protect the poles from predators, so they cannot climb them. The ideal, cheap and safe solution is to put cones or domes on them. These need to be reversed, so that animals cannot climb them. You can buy them off the peg or make your own. These are called “baffles” and they are easy to find and fairly cheap.

If you hang the feeding tray, also use cones to stop squirrels from reaching it, still with baffles.

Simple and effective! No need to attach bells to your poor cat, or humiliate them with colorful collars as I have read somewhere else!

11. Grow Native Plants to Make Bluebirds Feel at Home

To make your bluebird feel at home – and to get extra fresh food – you should grow as many native plants as possible, in particular:

• Coneflowers, milkweed, black-eyed-Susan, golden rod and wild grasses to attract native insects.
• Dogwood, viburnum, elderberry, sumac, serviceberry, mulberry, Virginia creeper, winterberry, holly and wild grape for extra fresh berries.
• Native tree species too will make them feel at home, if you can afford to grow them.

Great, now you know what to do to attract bluebirds and welcome them in your garden, but how about mistakes to avoid?

12. Do NOT Play Bluebird Songs in Your Garden to Attract Them!

I read it somewhere online, and you might have read it too… “Play bluebird songs to attract them to your garden,” and it is wrong! You may end up having the opposite effect! Let me explain…

Ok, if you play a bluebird song, you could attract a female, and the point is not that she isn’t as beautifully colored as a male bird; it’s that she will come, feed and go!

You see, most female bluebirds do not sing. Studies show that they can, but they don’t like to. On the other hand, male birds sing a lot, but they are also very territorial, so they will think that there’s another “boy” there, and keep away.

And the problem is that male bluebirds choose their nesting place – not females. In fact, you will know that you finally have a new sapphire colored guest in your garden when you see a male waiting at the entrance of your nesting box…

Why? Because he is actually inviting a female to come and live with him. This is how they court.

Finally,…

13. Do NOT Use Chemicals in Your Garden!

It goes without saying that you don’t want to poison bluebirds, so, by all means, do not use pesticides, weed killers and even chemical fertilizers! Give these songbirds a natural environment and they will live happily ever after in your garden…

Are You Ready to Attract Bluebirds to Your Garden? Beautifully colored, great singers, useful for your garden and great company, bluebirds are prized guests in American and Canadian gardens. So, you will be competing with your neighbors to attract a couple to your green paradise. But make it suitable for them, and you will enjoy their charming and soothing presence, and, the good news is, now you know how to!