Some take their bird houses down after each spring and store them to save wear and tear. Others wait till spring to put up new houses and some just think about it. No matter, the time to put up birdhouses is right now, and you may be too late.
Geese are already pairing off and I have seen some tussles between bluebirds and even cardinals. Robins are poking around, now, looking for mates and staking out their territory. In the next few weeks – if they haven’t already – bluebirds will select and begin guarding their future birdhouses.
We have had bluebirds nesting in our yard every year – except one – for over 15 years. The male and female often return as a pair, but if one dies, the survivor will bring a new mate to the same house, and last year’s baby blues will also return to their original nesting sight if no one else has claimed it.
Bluebird houses need several things – a 1 1/2inch entrance hole, a solid roof and no stick or perch beneath the hole. They like to fly directly to the entrance and a perch only aids and abets enemies and predators. Ideally, a bluebird house should be mounted on a pole or post roughly 4 to 6 feet above the ground in a relatively open area, with the entrance facing a large tree or shrub within 25 to 100 feet.
If you don’t have a bird house and want bluebirds in your yard, buy or build the right kind of house and put it up – now!
