I'm building some bluebird houses to put out this spring. Just wondering if anybody else does it and if they have any tips. I'm making the holes 1 1/2" and will face them east. I think I read where they like to have a bush or tree 40' in front of the house for the fledlings to land in when they leave the nest. Anybody?
I think we have Easterns here, but I swear I saw a longer sleeker bluebird clear down in SE Nebraska last weekend.

I have 5 that I built and maintain. Make the clean out door to open easily, wood swells, Keep them in the Open, a feeder pole or single tree out front is ok, but they love open areas.

Mine are at 10' high on a small thick conduit pole. On the bottom inside I have a cut/bent raisecd hardware cloth shelf up 3/4" off bottom.

Bluebirds fight English Sparrows and I help them out.

They will feed on mealworms in a tray feeder.

My most used Box by Bluebirds year after year.


Dont add a perch.

make SURE you have a safe backstop, but...YES!

Our Sportsman club every year builds 75 wood duck houses and 75 bluebird houses. The bluebird houses have a slotted opening. We pass them out to various scout organizations in the area and anyone else who wants them free of charge.

I have 3 around my place. Everything 330 said is exactly how I maintain my bluebird houses. I haven't had a problem with sparrows, more so with tree swallows. I was told the slotted entry discourages tree swallows better than a round hole. Don't know if that's true or not. As 330 said, definitely want to place the house in an open area.

Ive just seen the slotted opening houses. They look like something I will try.

Also, clean out the BB houses in Feb. March at the latest.

The open area is to keep the House wrens away from the BB houses. 10 yards a wren will travel any further drops the problem.

Most sites are selected in the fall by migrating young of the year BB's. So always best to have clean sites for them in September for them to look at. That is why multiple boxes a colony will set up because there is usually 6-10 pairs in those flocks.

You have both Mountain BB and Easterns BB in your area and pay attention because there could by Westerns BB.

For 10 years ran 50-75 boxes on a long term study of the ecto-parasites on the nesting birds using the houses.

People should just leave the swallows because more than likely they are just migrants....besides they are more flying insect eaters than BB's are

I'm confused about the slotted openings..?? I've seen oval and round.

The tree swallows I had weren't migrants as they stuck around all summer. They are really feisty little buggers! I keep a couple houses with round holes for them now too. I agree, they are a very beneficial insect-eating bird.

I have two wren houses in some high bush cranberry trees. You are right, wrens seem to like being tucked away a little. Pound for pound, they are tough little buggers too!

Oval is a better choice for a description. Slotted was a poor choice of words on my part. I'm sure they are one and the same.

Oh I see now. How high do you make those openings?

We have a school whose shop class cuts out all the pieces for us. We have to put them together. I would guess about 2 1/2 inches in length.

If I were to make some blue bird houses could I put them on the T post that hold up barbwire fence or would that not be predator proof enough?

I banded BB for years. I made it so the nesting box could be cleaned. I also put a added piece of wood over the hole to keep the starling from sticking there heads in a taking the baby's out. I just put an extra piece of wood over where the hole was a drilled through both with a 1-1/2 hole saw. I would remove the next when the young were a week old and sprinkle rose dust to kill the blow fly larvae. At one time I had 100 box going. I stopped because I was spend every weekend checking boxes all summer.

Then put the nest back in after the rose dust?

The deer mice will still climb up Tpost is what I have found. Remember when cleaning of the possibility of Hanti-virus especially the mouse nest.
If you have a collection of thistle seeds you have mice's home sweet home.(warm)

never did make any barriers to stop them, so I can help you there.

The main predator were the house wrens with burying the incubating BB and tree swallows with twigs.

I hate starlings, but rarely ever see any where I live. However, we have a place on the lake where they are thick. We have a martin house and the starlings were constantly harassing the martins until I bought a Starling-proof martin house. I found out from a martin expert that there can be a problem with mites in martin houses. He said to clean out the house each year and spray the interior with Sevin.

In my Audubon book, it's one of the only birds they say it's difficult to find anything beneficial about starlings.

Yes, just dust the bottom with rose dust or seven and slide the next back in.

If I found wrens, swallows or sparrow starting a nest out the went. Wrens were all sticks the size of the lead in a pencil, a tree swallow will always have a white feather inside the box, a sparrow is made with everything in the nest..

Go up from the T post with a 3/4" galvanized rod. Attach the rod with bolts or 3 hose clamps. Then up high where the birdhou see is use half circle conduit bracketa to 2 of them.

I like my houses up about 8' and on a rigid contuit so nothing can get a hold / grip.