I’ve been attracting bluebirds to my yard for over sixteen years. You don’t have to convince me how great bluebirds are! But, maybe you’ll need a little bit of convincing before you’re ready to put up your first bluebird house. If so, I wrote this post for YOU. Here are 10 reasons to attract bluebirds to your yard!
Photo above by FotoGrazio is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
#1. Bluebirds provide natural pest control
Bluebirds are naturally omnivores. During the winter they eat berries and other fruits, but during the summer they almost exclusively eat insects and other bugs – a lot of which we consider to be backyard pests.
In one study, researchers found that eastern bluebirds’ summer diet consisted mostly of caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, and spiders. But they also eat termites, moths, grubs, and mosquitos. If you are looking to invite some natural pest control into your backyard, bluebirds should be your first choice.
During the summer, you’ll be able to see bluebirds hunting insects from low perches. Look out for them on low-hanging branches, small trees, and fence posts. Bluebirds usually hang out on the top of these perches for a few minutes before swooping down and scooping up their prey.
In the middle of summer, at the peak of nesting season, bluebirds can eat up to 2,000 bugs per day. Just the positive impact this kind of natural pest-control could have on your backyard if you attract a family of bluebirds year after year.
#2. Male bluebirds sing a beautiful song
The second reason you should attract bluebirds to you yard is because they sing a beautiful song. The male eastern bluebird, in particular, sings a soft, subtle song that is best be described as a trill or a chortle. Hit “play” on the video below to listen for yourself!
I love the time of year when I start hearing this song again. Usually in early spring, around February or March, bluebirds will announce their presence with this song. Sometimes I’ll even try to imitate the song myself and they’ll call back to me.
If you attract bluebirds to your yard, you’ll get to know your bluebirds’ wonderful song and enjoy it all year long. The more you hear it, the more you’ll love it – just one of the many great reasons to attract bluebirds to your yard.
#3. You get to decide where bluebirds build their nest
One of the best reasons to attract bluebirds to your yard is the fact that YOU get to decide where they build their nest. This is a luxury that birdwatchers don’t have with a lot of other common backyard birds.
With other birds, like cardinals and orioles, you’ll have to watch carefully and try to find out where they have built their nest (probably somewhere high up in a tree). But, with bluebirds, you get to put out a bluebird house (nest box) and attract the birds to the ideal spot in your yard. Some of the control is in your hands!
Of course, you’ll have to choose a good spot in your yard to mount the nest box. It can’t be too near a tree line or it will attract house wrens, and it shouldn’t be too close to your house or barn – that’s house sparrow territory. But as long as you place the nest box in a nice, open area, you should be able to attract bluebirds to your favorite spot in your yard.
If you’re looking for a good bluebird house to put up in your yard, click here to see the nest boxes that I use on my Recommended Tools page.
#4. Bluebirds are fun to watch!
Thanks to their strikingly blue color, and the fact that you get to watch them fly to the nest box so many times a day, bluebirds are incredibly fun birds to watch. If you attract bluebirds to your yard, you’ll enjoy every chance you get to see them.
Luckily for me, the first pair of bluebirds I attracted to my backyard nested in a bluebird house that was visible from my dining room window. Just about every chance I could get I was popping my head over to the window to watch them.
Especially after their eggs hatch in the nest, bluebirds will constantly be returning to the nest box with an insect in their beak to feed their young. It’s fun watching them in action!
In my article called “10 Steps to Become a Bluebird Landlord” I talk about the best times of year to watch bluebirds. Give that article a read if you’re interested in learning more.
#5. Bluebirds are family-oriented
Most of the time that we spend watching bluebirds during the nesting season, they are taking care of their children or taking care of each other. During the nesting season, you’ll be able to see your bluebirds bringing their hatchlings insects every five minutes or so, and male bluebirds are constantly bringing food to their mates while they are sitting on the nest. It’s great watching birds take such good care of their families.
While most birds do take care of their own mates and babies to some extent, bluebirds seem to be especially family-oriented, even compared to other birds.
Cowbirds, for example, while they are a rare case, actually lay their eggs in the nests of other birds! This is natural instinct for cowbirds, of course, but they’re significantly less fun to watch than bluebirds because we don’t get to see them feeding their young!
As another example, male bluebirds will constantly be bringing their female mates food to eat while they are incubating eggs or keeping the young warm. House wrens are different, however. The male house wren builds the nest, but it’s not typical for male wrens to bring their partner food. Compared to house wrens, it’s much more fun to witness the cooperation and family-oriented nature of bluebirds.
#6. They might be your state bird
Bluebirds are the state bird of the following four US states: New York, Missouri, Nevada, and Idaho. In my opinion, their beauty and peaceful nature make bluebirds a great choice for a state bird. If you live in any of the four states mentioned above, show some state pride and attract these wonderful birds to your backyard!
Interestingly, while there are three recognized species of bluebirds, only two of them have been chosen to be state birds: eastern and mountain bluebirds.
Eastern bluebirds
The state bird of New York and Missouri is the eastern bluebird. This is the species of bluebird that is the most common throughout North America and spans the largest range. You can find these birds anywhere from the east coast all the way west to Rocky Mountains.
Mountain bluebirds
The state bird of Nevada and Idaho is the mountain bluebird. Mountain bluebirds are the second-most common bluebird species and, as their name might suggest, they’re mostly found at high elevations, specifically in the Rocky Mountains and farther west.
What about the western bluebird?
The western bluebird, found west of the Rocky Mountains in the US, has not been chosen to be an official state bird in any of the 50 US states. But, maybe your state will be next. California, what do you think? Are you up for starting a petition?
#7. Bluebirds have inspired many popular songs
Photo by whittlz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Bluebirds are internationally recognized for bringing good luck, joy, and happiness. As such, bluebirds have inspired a number of popular songs throughout the years. Whether or not you believe in luck, it can’t hurt to have birds with such a good reputation hanging around your yard.
What popular songs are inspired by bluebirds?
From the 1934 song Bluebird of Happiness by Sandor Harmati, to the 2007 song Bluebird Lullaby by Ron Irving, to the 2019 country song Bluebird by Miranda Lambert, bluebirds have been a muse to many songwriters throughout the years.
Another well-known song featuring bluebirds was written for the film “The Wizard of Oz.” In 1938 Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg penned the song “Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly” specifically for the film. The iconic “Wizard of Oz” kept bluebirds in pop culture for many years to come.
Why are bluebirds in so many songs?
Bluebirds are most likely the topic of so many songs in English thanks to the play, “The Blue Bird,” written by Maurice Maeterlinck. This play featured two children who were seeking a “blue bird of happiness.” After this play arrived on Broadway in 1910, the idea that bluebirds bring happiness became mainstream.
Whether it’s because of all of these songs or not, bluebirds do have a special way of bringing happiness to people who see them.
#8. Bluebirds (mostly) mate for life
One of the other reasons to attract bluebirds to your yard is their fidelity. I find that people are usually fascinated and inspired by animals that mate for life. Perhaps it restores our faith in relationships and marriage! While some animals change mates season after season, most bluebirds actually mate for life.
One study shows that most eastern bluebirds (95%) stay with the same mate for life, as long as their partner doesn’t pass away (source). Of course, bad things always happen.
Sometimes a partner will die and the other bluebird will find a new mate. Other times a nesting attempt will fail and a bluebird (either the male or the female) will begin breeding with multiple partners to ensure reproduction. But, overall, bluebirds show a high level of fidelity to their mates.
This is an important fact about bluebirds because it means that you could potentially be seeing the same exact pair of bluebirds coming back to your nest box year after year. More about that in this article I wrote here.
#9. Bluebirds can be attracted to a bird feeder
Since bluebirds eat mainly insects and spiders during the summer months, you might think they can’t be attracted to a feeder, but that’s not true. Bluebirds will come to your bird feeder if you know what to feed them!
Bluebirds eat mostly insects and spiders during the summer months, so summer is not the best time to try to entice them with berries and seeds. But summer is the perfect time to put out some mealworms. Mealworms are absolutely the number one food to put in your feeder to attract bluebirds. Put some live mealworms out regularly on a platform feeder, or even a hanging bluebird feeder, and you’ll get to watch bluebirds all summer long.
Click here to go to my Recommended Tools page to see the feeders that I use for bluebirds.
Winter is also a great time to attract bluebirds to you feeder, and your options will be a little more varied during these months. In the colder months of the year, bluebirds are still open to eating mealworms, but also berries, dried fruits, peanut butter, and even hulled sunflower seeds. Click here to read the article I wrote about what to feed bluebirds in the winter.
#10. Bluebirds are beautiful
Photo by FotoGrazio is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Lastly, one of the most important reasons to attract bluebirds to your yard: bluebirds are beautiful! All three species of bluebirds in North America are brilliantly sky blue in color and they’re breathtaking to see in their natural habitat. And if you play your cards right, their natural habitat could be your backyard!
The male of each bluebird species is the brighter blue of the two birds. The male eastern bluebird, for example, has a bright blue back, neck, and head, with a rusty orange chest and white belly.
Photo by ibm4381 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
This bird is hard to miss when he flies by! But, even the more muted female bluebirds are unmistakably blue.
The female eastern bluebird might appear gray at first, when you’re used to looking at the male, but she has the same blue back, neck, and head, with an orange chest and white belly. The colors just happen to be a little bit less vibrant.
Photo by Dolan Trout is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Whether it’s the male or the female, bluebirds are absolutely beautiful, and they should be a welcome visitor to anyone’s backyard.
Conclusion
There you go! Those are my ten reasons to attract bluebirds to your yard. If I’ve convinced you by now, and you’re ready to try attracting these wonderful birds to your own yard, check out my post titled, “10 Steps to Become a Bluebird Landlord” (click the link here). This post is the best place to get started and it’ll tell you everything you need to know about attracting bluebirds to your yard. Good luck!