Best Blue Bird Feeder

Best blue bird feeder

The Jail Bluebird Feeder A very good type of feeder is the Bluebird Jail feeder. This feeder (pictured at the right), was designed to exclude larger birds, such as Robins and Starlings, from getting at the mealworms or other food, before the Bluebirds can get it.

Do bluebirds need a special feeder?

Be careful with suet in the warmest months of the year. It can sometimes begin to melt and coat the bird's feathers. Bluebird specific feeders: Look for hopper-style feeders with small holes on either end. These feeders are made specifically to allow bluebirds in to feed while keeping larger birds out.

Where is the best place to put bluebird feeders?

Feeders close to natural shelter such as trees or shrubs offer resting places for birds between feeding bouts and a quick refuge if a hawk flies through. Evergreens are ideal—their thick foliage buffers winter winds and offers year-round hiding places from predators.

What color should a bluebird feeder be?

Bird houses and bird feeders for goldfinches are often yellow, while blue is a common color for bluebird products. Because of their love for oranges, oriole bird houses and bird feeders are often colored orange.

Why won't bluebirds come to my feeder?

Tip #1. Bluebirds will probably never visit a bird feeding station that ONLY serves typical feeder foods like sunflower, safflower, Nyjer (thistle), peanuts, etc. This is because bluebirds naturally feed mostly on insects, snails, worms, and other invertebrates during the warmer months.

Do bluebirds prefer live or dried mealworms?

Bluebirds prefer living, juicy mealworms to their dried counterparts. Pro Tip: To initially attract bluebirds to your backyard feeders, you may need to use a mix of live AND dried mealworms. Eating a live mealworm is much more natural for a bluebird, and they might have to be trained to eat the dried ones.

How do I get bluebirds to come to my feeder?

7 Tips for Attracting Bluebirds

Open it up. Bluebirds prefer open areas with low grass and perches from which they can hunt insects.
Leave it alone.
Plant native. ...
Just add water. ...
Go chemical-free. ...
Beware of roaming cats. ...
Offer mealworms at your feeders.

What are bluebirds favorite seed?

Hulled Sunflower is birds' favorite food but without the mess of shell debris. Get more birds for your bucks by offering sunflower seeds without their shells. No shells means no mess under your feeder. Hulled sunflower seeds have a high oil content and provide birds with an extra kick of energy.

What attracts bluebirds to your yard?

Bluebirds will also eat a wide variety of berries, such as sumac, holly, and elderberry. Adding these berry-producing shrubs to the yard will help create a bluebird-friendly landscape. Suet offered as crumbles or shreds can also be valuable for attracting bluebirds, particularly with insect or fruit blends.

What direction should a bluebird feeder face?

Position the nest box so that the entrance hole is facing east and towards open habitat. To decrease competition from Tree Swallows, you can pair nest boxes about 15–20' apart, with pairs of houses about 300' from each other.

What month do bluebirds build nests?

Bluebirds begin scouting out nest boxes as early as late February, or even earlier in the south. If conditions are favorable, they sometimes continue nesting into August or even September.

When should you start feeding bluebirds?

When Bluebirds begin checking out a nest-box that is the best time to begin offering the kind of food they prefer, like live mealworms. The type of feeder to use is really not very important. I use a small clay dish which is placed on a large rock easily seen from the nest-box, maybe 10 feet away.

How high should you hang a bluebird feeder?

Bluebirds (mid-levels and ground feeding) – 5–7 feet. Orioles (feed in bushes and trees) – 6–10 feet.

How do I keep squirrels out of my bluebird feeder?

Squirrel-Proof Your Bird Feeder

Hang your bird feeder far away from trees. Run a line of string from one tree to another and hang the bird feeder equal distance from the two trees.
Try making your poles difficult for squirrels to climb. ...
Add a squirrel baffle or tubing to the pole.

Can you feed bluebirds too many mealworms?

It is best to offer mealworms in limited quantities, just once or twice a day, unless poor weather conditions dictate more frequent feeding. A hundred or so worms offered per day (half in the morning, half in the afternoon) should be adequate for a pair of bluebirds with a box of nestlings.

Is peanut butter good for bluebirds?

Bluebirds swallow foods whole, so pea-sized is max. Peanut butter smeared on tree bark at ground level serves them, too. Since bluebirds aren't built to feed clinging, they eat more naturally at or near ground level. In passing, note that cheaper peanut butter contains more oil and sugar, unhealthy for birds.

Will bluebirds eat bird seed?

Bluebirds rarely eat birdseed, although they will occasionally take shelled sunflower, safflower and peanut chips/nut meats. Seeds in fruit they consume will pass through their system undigested.

Do bluebirds come back to the same house every year?

Adult Bluebirds tend to return to the same breeding territory year after year, but only a small percentage (three to five percent) of young birds return to where they hatched. Bluebirds love mealworms and can be drawn in with a small dish filled with mealworms.

Should you soak mealworms before feeding to birds?

You don't have to soak your dried mealworms in water before you use them. However, soaking them in warm water for 30 minutes before you offer them out is a brilliant way to give your garden birds some extra hydration.

Where do you put a mealworm feeder for bluebirds?

Once you see Bluebirds showing interest in a nest box be prepared to offer mealworms. The type of feeder to use is really not very important. My choice of feeder is a small clay dish which is placed on a large rock which is easily seen from the top of the nest-box, just a few feet away.