When Ben Haywood moved to his current home in South Carolina, he quickly made two friends: The pair of Eastern Bluebirds that readily took to the nest box he put up outside his home in the spring of 2022. Five breeding seasons later, the very same female still uses the box, now with a new mate.
Even when the two birds finish raising their chicks, they won’t go far, persuaded by all the perks Haywood provides to keep them close year-round. “They stay here because I feed them, and I have habitat and water sources and native plants, so even in the winter, they’re hanging around, even when they don’t have babies,” says Haywood, Audubon’s director of community science.
North America is home to three species of bluebird. Eastern Bluebirds, true to their name, reside mostly to the east of the Rocky Mountains, in open, tree-scattered lands ranging from southern Canada to the southeastern United States, and from southern Arizona to Nicaragua. Western Bluebirds can be found from British Columbia to northern Baja California along the West Coast, and from Colorado south into Mexico. Mountain Bluebirds, entirely blue without the the rusty breast of the other two species, overlap with the Western Bluebird’s range but much prefer meadows and prairies.
No matter where they live, however, all bluebirds face habitat loss, driven by agricultural and commercial developments that erase habitat and strip them of the trees they need for cavity nesting. But if your home’s outdoor area encompasses just the right mix of forest and open space, follow the suggestions below to help populations of these species soar—and bring the beauty of bluebirds to your backyard.
How to Attract Bluebirds
1.) Put out mealworms.
Bluebirds consume a variety of ground-dwelling insects, such as crickets and caterpillars, but they especially enjoy mealworms. Mealworms, actually the larvae of darkling beetles, are best provided in one of two types of feeders to avoid getting quickly depleted by bigger birds: hopper-style, which dispenses freeze-dried worms through small holes, or cage-style, which encloses the worms—live or dried, often on a platform or in a cup—in caged wire with holes just big enough for bluebirds to access but not larger species.
Note that freeze-dried mealworms do not have the moisture that budding bluebird nestlings need to stay hydrated. So during breeding season, you should supply live mealworms that bluebird parents can give to their chicks. Both freeze-dried and live mealworms can typically be purchased from your local bird supply or pet store, and of course, online.
Still, because mealworms don’t contain enough calcium, bluebirds will benefit from your regularly offered feeder food, too. “I have seed out for other types of birds, and they will eat sunflower seeds that are hulled,” Haywood says.
2.) Erect—and protect—a nest box.
Just leaving mealworms out will likely not be enough to entice your local bluebirds to pay a visit. But a nest box specifically designed for bluebirds, whether it’s handmade or commercially bought, certainly can. In preparation for the breeding months, put out a nest box in March or April, making sure it sits at a height of four to six feet and includes drainage holes on the box’s floor to keep the inside waterproof.
To keep egg-thieving raccoons and snakes at bay, add a wobbling stovepipe or plastic baffle.
Oftentimes, predators and other invaders will target bluebird nest boxes, so be sure to take the proper precautions. To deter House Sparrows from becoming occupants, don’t place a perch under the entrance hole and drill a second, adjacent entrance hole to help bluebirds better guard their homes. To keep egg-thieving raccoons and snakes at bay, add a wobbling stovepipe or plastic baffle to the pipe or pole under the nest box. And placing a rectangular piece of sheet metal with an identical hole cut out around the entrance will stop squirrels from chewing through to nest themselves.
If you plan on putting out multiple nest boxes, keep a distance of 300 feet between them to prevent bluebird territorial disputes. Now, if Tree Swallows live in your area, they too will take to bluebird nest boxes. So to avoid direct competition between the two species, place boxes across your landscape in sets of two, with 5 to 10 feet of space between each box.
Each nest box should face towards the east and away from sun exposure. For bonus entertainment—and maximum security—place your nest box within view of a window. “Fortunately, I can see my nest box from one of my main windows in my front room, and so I’m always kind of keeping an eye on it,” Haywood says.
3.) Provide water and native plants.
Apart from mealworms and nest boxes, there are other steps you can take to make bluebirds feel at home. In the fall and winter months, bluebirds trade their diet of bugs for berries like hollies, dogwoods, and serviceberries—all native plants that you can grow in your garden.
You also want to eliminate the use of lawn pesticides that can be transferred from insects to bluebirds. And while bluebirds will happily visit any bird bath, one with a dripper or fountain will really draw them. Getting to watch a group of bluebirds splash about is just another joy of having the species as your neighbor.
This is something Haywood knows firsthand. “Bluebirds, in my experience, are incredibly loyal, in that once they find a space that they’re excited about, they’ll continue to come back,” he says. “Maybe you don’t get them originally, right off the bat, but just continue to tweak here and there, and once they do discover it, you will have a friend for life.”
