Blue Ridge Country May/June 2022 - 12

CREATURE FEATURE
Housing Project
Sustaining the once-dwindling bluebird population depends on human help.
By NANCY HENDERSON
DO'S AND DON'TS OF
BLUEBIRD BOXES
For detailed instructions on building a bluebird nest box,
see tnbluebirdsociety.org/nestbox-plans. Here are some
other things you need to know to attract these colorful
birds:
* Habitat. Post bluebird houses not too close together in
meadows, large grassy lawns or other open areas.
* Height. Mount the box about five feet off the ground-out
of reach of ground predators but low enough that the average
person can access it. Use a metal pole, not a wooden
one, to deter raccoons, snakes and other critters that climb.
* Design. Make sure the entrance hole is about one-anda-half-inches
in diameter; anything larger makes it easy
for predatory birds to invade the nest. And, says Bill Hartman,
co-president of the Valley Chapter of the Tennessee
Bluebird Society, " You do not want to put a perch in front of
a bluebird box because it's just an invitation for other, larger
birds to stand on the perch and stick their head in to see
what they can find. "
* Ventilation. Cut a half-inch slit in each side for circulation.
" In the South, when it's 85 degrees and sunny outside, " Hartman
says, " it could be 100 degrees or more inside that
bluebird box. "
* Food and water. Provide a source of fresh water such as
a birdbath, and clean it regularly. Bluebirds love bagworms,
grasshoppers and other insects, so it's not critical to set out
food for them. But if you want to enjoy watching them
up close, consider a feeder with dried mealworms or
suet.
Source: Bill Hartman, co-president, Valley Chapter,
Tennessee Bluebird Society -NH
hey may just be the ultimate recyclers. Instead of
building their own homes from scratch, Eastern
bluebirds simply take up residence in tree and
fencepost cavities left behind by woodpeckers.
There's just one problem. " As we expanded
the urban population, widened out and started
cleaning up the woods and other properties, we
removed all of their habitat, " says Bill Hartman, co-president
of the Loudon-based Valley Chapter of the Tennessee
Bluebird Society, which covers East Tennessee.
" And then we abandoned wooden fenceposts for
metal fenceposts, which are a lot more durable and longer-lasting.
But [the wooden ones] had holes and knots
in them where bluebirds could make nests. "
By the 1970s, avian experts were so concerned about
the declining numbers that they feared the birds
might go extinct. In response, the North American
Bluebird Society and its affiliates (there's one in
just about every Blue Ridge state) and other conservation
groups started setting up nest boxes
and educating the public about the importance
of providing suitable spaces for the
T
12 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
http://www.tnbluebirdsociety.org/nestbox-plans http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2022

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