I Hope Bluebirds Dance in Your Soul; a Quotation by Al Batt

An Al Batt Quotation

Bluebirds prefer open grassland with scattered trees. They are territorial and are cavity nesters. That’s similar to woodpeckers.

Bluebird Competition and Territory

There are lots of birds competing with bluebirds for nesting locations. When there are young bluebirds in the nest predators can include snakes, cats and raccoons. Some of the native and non-native bird species competing with bluebirds. They compete for nesting locations and are as follows; the Common Starling, House Sparrow, and the American Crow.

Those birds take over the nesting sites of bluebirds, killing the young birds and smashing eggs. They may also be killing adult bluebirds. I’ve noticed in our own backyard there are crows chasing away the bluebirds. Some of the blue birds seem to be missing.

We suspect the crows, and there are maybe a dozen or more of them, may be eating or killing them. The other birds are extremely noisy when the crows are around. It seems like they may be trying to scare the crows away.

In your Garden

The bluebird is the quintessential helpful garden bird. Of all the birds a gardener could choose to attract, gardeners go to extreme lengths to attract bluebirds. They try to keep them in the garden for their best properties. Bluebirds are voracious insect eaters. Then quickly rid a garden of insect pests.

Bluebirds are attracted to platform bird feeders. Such feeders are filled with grubs of the darkling beetle. You can find such feeders sold online by many bird product wholesalers. They are sold as mealworms. Bluebirds will also eat raisins soaked in water. In addition, depending on your climate, in winter bluebirds use backyard heated birdbaths.