Extension Circular No. 170, October, 1928

January Brought the Bluebird Season

Many Bluebirds can be seen in our county during winter. A few are seen in town as more people provide year round food, fresh water and a good nest box for their use. To attract Bluebirds to your backyard you need a bluebird feeder filled with "winter pudding" or mealworms. Bluebirds cannot eat sunflower and other seeds a their beaks are not designed for this. Bluebirds eat insects, berries and man made food mixes such as winter pudding. They can best be fed by making a feeder with see through sides and with 1.5 inch holes at each end. Dogwood berries and mealworms which can be purchased locally attract bluebirds. Winter pudding can also be put in saucers around the yard for any bird.

"Approximate Nesting Schedule for Bluebirds in North Carolina"

Jan/Feb- Bluebirds begin looking for nest box
March/April- Nest building and egg laying
April/May- First hatching
June/July- Second hatching
August- Third hatching

Jim Felts in Wilkes county reported an egg laid on March 7, 2002. So it really helps to get your bird house in place in January or early February.

Bluebirds are territorial during the nesting season and typically will not build within 100 yards of another bluebird nest. The male selects the site and begins courting. When the female accepts she will do virtually all of the nest building. She will lay one egg a day until 3-6 eggs are laid. Incubation begins after the last egg is laid and the brood will hatch in 13-14 days. Both adults then begin their frantic search for small soft insects to feed the young. Each nestling is fed about every 20 minutes. This is a most enjoyable time to watch the activity around the bluebird box.

After 17-18 days the young are ready to fledge. They climb to the entrance hole and look out and generally settle back in the nest. Instinct beckons however and soon all leave the nest ususally on the same day. Watching this nesting cycle will make you proud that you have helped. (Info from the NCBS)

Winter Pudding Recipe

You may want to try this "Winter Pudding" recipe for your bluebird feeder!

2 quarts water
1 cup margarine
4 cups grits (not instant)
1 cup peanut butter
raisins and peanut hearts (optional)

In a large saucepan, bring water and margarine to a boil. Slowly add grits, stirring and cooking until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, raisins and peanut hearts. Mix together well, then place in feeders. Freeze the balance in low plastic or foil containers for future use.

Bluebird Food- Yummy!

Here are several recipes for food that bluebirds like. They do not normally feed at birdseed feeders with other birds. I include a link to a bird feeder for bluebirds, or you can build your own.
http://www.birdshop.com

Johnson County Mixture
1C Rendered Suet (beef fat) You can buy at grocery
1C Peanut Butter
Yellow cornmeal
Melt the fat, stir in peanut butter and mix cornmeal
to a good consistency.

Miracle Meal for Bluebirds
1C Flour
3 C Corn Meal
1/2 lb. lard or peanut butter (not crisco)
Peanut hearts or bits
Mix in electric mixer until mix makes a firm ball.
Mixture may be packed into 1 1/2" holes drilled into
vertical logs. Use a screw eye on top to hang up.

Bluebirds Love Mealworms
You can buy them here!
Grubco 1-800-222-3563
Natures Way 1-00-318-2611

Nice Bluebird House Plans For You

Progressive Farmer
http://www.progressivefarmer.com/farmer/diy/freeplans/images/bluebirdhouse.pdf
(From Progressive Farmer Magazine webpage)


Bluebird Nut
http://bluebirdnut.com/Housing.htm#
Scary snake picture here! Watch out!
(From Bluebird Nut webpage

North American Bluebird Society
http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/nestboxplans.htm



Clipart by "Lisa's Country Clipart"
http://www.countryclipart.com

NC Bluebird Society Membership Application

Copy and paste into your Word program and
print out to send in to join the NC Bluebird Society


North Carolina Bluebird Society
Membership Application
Our primary goal is to increase the bluebird (and
other cavity nester) population throughout
North Carolina. Become a member today.
NCBS memberships are for one or three years.
You will receive a copy of Bluebirds For Ever, a
pamphlet describing nest box monitoring, and four
newsletters, “Bluebird Notes” each year. The
newsletter articles will keep you informed regarding
bluebird activities in North Carolina as well as
nationally.
Dues are $10.00 per year or
$25.00 for three years.
Name:__________________________________
Address:________________________________
City:______________________ State:________
Zip Code:_____________
County:_______________
Phone Number:____________________
Mail this form and your check to:
David Hindsley
135 Lakeview Drive
Tarboro, NC 27886
Renewal membership?___________
New membership?______________
Check amount: $_______________________
Please indicate if you also have an interest in:
_____Establishing a bluebird trail in your area
_____Contacting your local paper with news
_____Volunteering to be a County Coordinator
_____Helping with the newsletter
_____Conducting a bluebird workshop
_____Serving as a NCBS Board Member
_____Assisting with the Annual Meeting
_____Submitting photos
_____Other (please explain)
_______________________________________
Ideal location for
bluebird nest box
Bluebird nest and eggs
Pine needles and dried grasses.
Eggs are typically blue in color.
English Sparrow nest
Loosely woven grasses,
plastic and trash.
Eggs are white
with brown specks.
Email Address: _______________________

A Little Bit About Me-The Bluebird

Conservation status

The population of the Eastern Bluebird declined seriously enough in the past century to reach critical status by the mid-1900s. The decline was due to:

1. Habitat destruction (loss of fields and nesting cavities in split-rail fences; clearing of dead trees)
2. Pesticide use
3. Nest predation by House Sparrows and European Starlings; both of which are non-native, introduced species.

The species was rescued by a network of birding enthusiasts who erected nesting boxes for Bluebirds, with close monitoring necessary to prevent House Sparrows from nesting in them. They remain thoughtful of conservation, however, with competition still prevalent from other species (e.g. Tree Swallows, which are a native species and which also nest in cavities) and in certain states of the US they can still be difficult to spot. It is worth noting that due to the increase in their numbers in the past few decades, they are not protected under CITES or U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Eastern Bluebird eggs

The Bluebird is the state bird of Missouri and New York.

The Eastern Bluebird is also found in Bermuda, where the population may constitute a sub-species. Bermuda Bluebirds have become endangered by the loss of 8 million Bermuda cedar trees in the 1940s, and by nest predation from introduced Sparrows, Starlings, and Kiskadees. Kiskadees, introduced in 1957, have also contributed to declines of other species, such as the Cardinal and the Catbird. In 1987, Hurricane Emily destroyed much of Bermuda's forest habitat, adversely affecting the Bluebird and other tree-dependent species.

Food

Approximately two-thirds of the diet of an adult eastern bluebird consists of insects and other invertebrates. The remainder of the bird's diet is made up of wild fruits. Favored insect foods include grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and beetles. Other food items include earthworms, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs, and snails. Fruits are especially important when insects are scarce in the winter months. Some preferred winter food sources include dogwood, hawthorn, wild grape, and sumac and hackberry seeds. Supplemental fruits eaten include blackberries, bayberries, fruit of honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, Eastern Juniper, and pokeberries. Bluebirds feed by perching on a high point, such as a branch or fence post, and swooping down to catch insects on or near the ground. The availability of a winter food source will often determine whether or not a bird will migrate. If bluebirds do remain in a region for the winter, they will group and seek cover in heavy thickets, orchards, or other areas in which adequate food and cover resources are available. (From Wikipedia)

Eastern Bluebird

The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a medium-sized thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards.

Adults have a white belly. Adult males (far right) are bright blue on top and have a reddish brown throat and breast. Adult females (near right) have lighter blue wings and tail, a brownish throat and breast and a grey crown and back. Eastern Bluebirds are found east of the Rockies, southern Canada to the Gulf States and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua.

The bright blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, fluttering down to the mowed grass to capture a grasshopper, cricket or beetle makes this species a favorite of birders. The male's call includes sometimes soft warbles of jeew or chir-wi or the melodious song chiti WEEW wewidoo (Sibley, 2000). From wikipedia

Spring Is Coming

With the reprieve of warm weather this weekend, I am sure all of you had a little feeling that Spring is not far behind. Well, the Bluebird, that is so a part of nature in our area, will be feeling the urge to look for a nesting box. So it is important for all of us to be cleaning out our nesting boxes or putting up new ones. Do it now! I think I will try to get out today and get mine cleaned out. The bluebirds will start looking soon, if not now, with this warm weather. We want to have the boxes prepared for them. I will post an article on this subject a little later. Happy Bluebirding!