Almost every morning, our resident pair of bluebirds samples a few sunflower hearts from our feeder, visits the birdbath for a drink of water and then flies to the fence to check out bird houses. We have three choices, and they visit each one. The male peeks in while the hen perches on top of the house. They began their home inspections not long after they finished nesting. It seems to be a year-round activity for these lovely birds.
You would think that if the pair had a successful nest the year before that they would simply return to that same house, but my bluebirds don’t. They pick a different house each year. This past summer and raised two clutches, but  I bet they will not use that house this coming year. I wonder if they think that switching houses may keep predators guessing, but I have no idea about their strange habits.
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.
