We saw our resident pair of bluebirds this morning. They were checking out nesting sites. Already!
I feel confident it’s the same pair that nested three times in our various bluebird boxes last summer. Funny, after the third clutch had fledged, the blues disappeared. Didn’t see them for a couple months, then they returned for a bath and a sip of water during the drought. As I always say, if you want to attract lots of birds, have water available.
I have heard from other bird watchers that you should take down your bluebird houses in late summer and put them up again in early spring.
But if bluebirds are shopping for real estate right now, perhaps it’s best to simply clean out the old houses and leave them as they are. They may wear out sooner, but if it means bluebirds in my yard, new bluebird houses are fairly inexpensive.
My suggestion for drawing bluebirds to your yard is threefold: First, give them water, especially in the winter; second, put our sunflower hearts and chips in your feeders right now; third, have several available bluebird houses from which to choose.
Do these few things and you can enjoy the beauty and companionship of bluebirds for years to come.