Blue Birds

[1eyefishing]

Yes, you're correct.
I just did a little more reading up and actually their northern range is their breeding grounds. I was thinking they fly south to winter and breed.
Still don't care for em.
I like all my other little birds that they chase off better.

 

[natureman]

I have a few in the woods behind my house. This was taken from a photo blind. I don't do anything special to attract them. They come visit my feeders to see what is going on. They don't seem to eat sunflower seeds so they don't stick around long. I put out meal worms once for them but the squirrels gobbled them up.

 

[Whitefeather]

I have a couple pairs around my yard and garden. They will have 2-3 clutches a year. I’m seeing them around my feeder in the last couple weeks too.

They are bug eating machines.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I knew where this was going...

What? Did I say something wrong?

 

[Browning Slayer]

What? Did I say something wrong?

No. I know his hate for those birds. He's the only person I know that has a hate for them. It's like a Tennessee thread..

 

[Geffellz18]

I have one that seemingly attacks itself in my wife’s passenger side mirror of her car. None of the other cars get near as much action….It also is seen or heard popping the window above the garage door. Didn’t know they were that aggressive.

And he was back at it this morning!


It sure leaves quite the mess!

 

[Doug B.]

And he was back at it this morning!
View attachment 1211386View attachment 1211387View attachment 1211388

It sure leaves quite the mess!
View attachment 1211389

I had a towhee that did that for a couple of years.

 

[Toliver]

This thread got the zippity do da song stuck in my head.

I like blue birds. My wife feeds birds all winter but I don't recall seeing blue birds around the feeders.

Dislike blue jays but that's just because of the irritating noise they make.

 

[trout maharishi]

They come to my feeders but only eat mealworms and suet. They love suet with mealworms in it. I have 3 boxes that I'm lucky enough most years to have 2 of them occupied with bluebirds. Sometimes chickadees and wrens will get in one of their boxes. I'm afraid one of the boxes is going to have to me moved. I have a House Sparrow that has taken up residence.

 

[Baroque Brass]

One of the coolest things I ever saw was years ago when I went to get the newspaper (remember those?) on a cool spring morning. There was a male bluebird perched on the wire just singing his heart out. Each time he sang I could see the tiny puffs of breath condense in the cool morning air.

I have bluebird bird houses up but it’s a battle against all the predators. Two consecutive years snakes have gotten the eggs/babies.

 

[jcbcpa]

From as early as I can remember up through my early teenage years (so roughly 1975 through 1985), a highlight every Fall would be when the local country stores would carry “salty fish”. Basically sitting their in brine is a bucket. My grandmother would soak them and fry them up. I could eat myself sick n those things. I don’t even know what kind of fish they were, they just called them “salty fish”. Haven’t seen any in 35 yrs or so.

In all my decades of feeding birds in the winter, I have never seen a bluebird eat birdseed. They will usually eat mealworms if you put them out.

I normally get my birdseed at Tractor Supply. You can get a 35# sack of their wild bird food for about $15, and the birds really like it. I go through several sacks a winter, along with a few dozen suet cakes.

Before we moved I had 2 bluebird houses. I would buy crickets and set 2 buckets around close to the houses. My grandkids loved to watch the bluebirds go into the cricket buckets and get the crickets. The little Carolina Wrens would do it too.

 

[ClemsonRangers]

they love a good bath

 

[ucfireman]

Cleaned my 3 houses yesterday, 2 had old nests, 1 had ants. Cleaned them all out and ready.
Neat idea about the crickets, may give it a go this spring/summer.

 

[jcbcpa]

 

[Geffellz18]

This guy spends about 2/3rds of his day attacking himself apparently on my wife’s passenger window as referenced in the previous post. He’s now doing it on our travel vehicle and near about every window we have on the house!

 

[ucfireman]

Bird Brain.

 

[specialk]

One of the coolest things I ever saw was years ago when I went to get the newspaper (remember those?) on a cool spring morning. There was a male bluebird perched on the wire just singing his heart out. Each time he sang I could see the tiny puffs of breath condense in the cool morning air.

I have bluebird bird houses up but it’s a battle against all the predators. Two consecutive years snakes have gotten the eggs/babies.

hydrated lime or snake repellant around the base may help....

 

[Core Lokt]

Where is the cheapest place to get bird seed?

BB's don't eat birdseed.

I have two boxes and they get used every year. THey have great eyesight as well. They will sit on the power line in the back yard and all of a sudden dive bomb to the ground and fly off with an insect.

 

[Core Lokt]

Mocking birds and brown thrashers don't eat seed either.

 

[Jim Baker]

I had 2 house wrens roosting on the ledge under our carport. So I built a couple of boxes to specs for wrens and put them up under the carport. I have had BB boxes on the privacy fence for years and never had any BB take to them.

Not more than a week after putting the wren boxes a pair of BB took them and raised 2 clutches of chicks in one.

I took the boxes down. They left droppings on every thing with a shiny surface. Actually scratched and chipped the paint on my wife truck. I hope they never come back.