If you have some recycled lumber that's in good shape, your cost will be a dollar or two for the material.ĭimensions - all Eastern bluebird boxes should have an entrance hole of 1 1/2' in diameter. You can make one for as little as $5 of material and some of your own time, or you can buy them pre-built for about $20 and up. Nest Box Constructionīluebird nest boxes are relatively easy and inexpensive to construct. If it is designed to the proper dimensions and placed in a good location, bluebirds will respond readily. The nest box looks a lot like a natural nesting cavity to a bluebird. This is where bluebird nest boxes solve the problem. Either way, the bluebird has to search extensively to find a suitable cavity in the right habitat.Īll of this has created a shortage of bluebird nesting sites that has directly contributed to the decline of bluebirds for the the first 3/4 of the 1900's. They have to rely on either natural decay to create the space inside the tree or woodpeckers to excavate the cavity for them. Aggressive, competing species like house sparrows and starlings have taken over the few natural cavities that are available.īluebirds cannot create their own nesting cavities. And the process of this decay, taking place over years, provides food, shelter, and nesting sites for many animals including bluebirds.ģ. In nature, these types of trees are not removed, but left to gradually decay. Landscaping methods today tend to favor removal of dead or dying trees rather than leaving them as a home for wildlife. Extreme development has removed many trees which develop cavities.Ģ. Why is this the case? There are several reasons:ġ. And this is a big problem today, as available natural tree cavities are scarce. Even now, some bluebirds will nest in these cavities, IF they can find them.

Before people put out nest boxes, natural cavities are what bluebirds nested in exclusively.

This means that their natural choice in nesting in the wild is some sort of hollowed out cavity in a tree. Protecting Your Nest Box With Predator GuardsĪll bluebirds are classified as 'cavity nesting birds'. What You Need To Know About Bluebird Nest Boxes:

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