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Management practices that are thought to have improved
Eastern Bluebird production on the Audubon Bluebird Trail.
Location, Location, Location:
1) Bluebirds need a territorial forage area of 3-21 acres of predominantly open habitat (braw.org/Ask the Pros/Drs. Linda Whittingham & Peter Dunn/Dept. of Biology, UW-Milwau.)
2) Ideal sites: short, sparse grass with interspersed trees: cemeteries, golf courses, parks, roadsides, RR tracks
3) Boxes should be totally exposed to sunlight from sunrise until noon; thereafter, shading is permissable
4) Perch sites:
a) One or more trees (10’+ high is ideal) right in front of or to one side of nest box--as perch for adults delivering food and first perch for fledglings (20-30’ from box)
b) Fences (barbed, electric, wooden)
c) Electrical wires, clothes lines
5) Noisy sites okay (heavy traffic highways, railroads, temporary air shows, church picnics)
Relocation:
1) Change the nest box position if there has been no bluebird nesting attempt in a season OR
2) Change by the end of the following April (90% of bluebirds have nested by then)
Box Style/Dimensions:
1) In ‘the wild”, bluebirds prefer to occupy old woodpecker holes that are not usually very large or very deep
2) Shallow, narrow boxes work best:
a) 4-5” below the bottom of the hole as maximum depth
b) 4 x 4” or 4” x 5” nesting platform
3) No vents or keep vents closed until June 1 (end of July in black fly habitat)
4) Oval hole small enough to keep out starlings & cowbirds
5) Don’t use predator guards on box fronts (too thick for bluebirds) or perches on boxes (used by predator birds like sparrows & kestrels)
Spacing:
1) Space no closer than 100+ yards (Zeleny 1976). Note: Tree Swallow occupation is encouraged if boxes are placed closer than this (braw.org/Ask the Pros)
2) Pairing reduces bluebird and increases swallow production/box
Nest, Egg & Chick Removal: Procedures approved by USFWS in Dec., 2006
1) Partial or complete nests w/o eggs: 1st week; 2nd ,3rd ,4th weeks, no change, then remove; restart week count if more building occurs; if wet, remove, replace with dry, coarse grass or pine needles (white pine preferred)
2) Eggs, full clutch in week 1; if do not hatch in 2nd ,3rd or 4th week, place back of fingers on eggs; if cold to touch, remove nest and eggs Chicks starving/lethargic: foster into nests with chicks of similar age, + or – 2 days [place with slightly younger, if possible]: 37 of 42 reared by adoptive parents in Audubon study
Predator Guard on Mounting Pole/Post:
1) Steel fence posts are superior to rebar; pvc or aluminum tubing is superior to conduit (Terry Glanzman from Mondovi has experienced massive losses on his trail from raccoons [he uses conduit/rebar])
2) House Sparrow predation: No nest box has proven to be sparrow proof--4” PVC,K-Boxes & slot boxes thought to work for some people (David & Roca, 1995).
Direction of Opening:
1) Keep away from prevailing westerly winds (cools boxes; let’s in driving rain)
2) Use the same direction for all boxes
3) Cornell University has determined that directing the opening of a nest box to the east improves the fledging rate of Eastern Bluebirds in northern latitudes. Apparently, boxes pointed in that direction, heat up more quickly in the mornings in cold weather but do not collect as much heat from a southern exposure in summer.
By following these guidelines any monitor in any area of the country that has the right habitat, should be able to increase their production of bluebirds, in some cases dramatically so.
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