Blue Bird Information

Attracting Bluebirds
to your Garden

There are 3 types of bluebirds that make their home in the United States. The Eastern Blue Bird is found in the Eastern U.S., the Western Blue Bird is found in the Rocky Mountain States and West, and the Mountain Blue Bird is found at higher elevations from the foothills of the Rockies to the Pacific Coast. No matter where you live, attracting the bluebird to your backyard can be very fun and rewarding.

The bluebird is very beneficial to us, eating large quantities of damaging insects. Bluebirds prefer to live in open park lands, grassy lawns, pastures and meadows. Bluebirds will perch on fence posts or small trees and swoop down to eat insects on the grassy ground. These beautiful birds were once very common in the U.S., however, over the last century their numbers have diminished due to loss of natural habitat, overuse of pesticides and predators.

Providing a bluebird house and nesting materials is a strong factor in attracting nesting bluebirds since collecting nesting materials can take hundreds of trips. Bluebirds like soft grasses and fragrant pine needles as nesting material. Provide these nesting materials in an empty suet cage, or simply gather bunches of material and situate in the bark of a tree.

Learn more about
Bluebird Houses

Offering a nest box is one of the best ways to attract a bluebird. Bluebirds nest in natural tree cavities and old woodpecker holes. When natural nesting sites are scarce, bluebirds will readily use nesting boxes built to correct dimensions. Mount your bluebird house on a fence post or pole, low to the ground no higher than 4-5'. Situate along woodland edges facing open land. Keep as far from human habitation as possible.

Bluebirds, like all insect eating birds, get thirsty! A birdbath is an excellent addition to your backyard. Plant scattered fruit and berry trees, mixed with open lawn and herbaceous flower beds to make an excellent habitat. Bluebirds enjoy the berries and fruits of dogwood, red cedar, sumac, bayberry, Virginia creeper, holly, blueberry, hackberry and elderberry.