Are you looking for an indoor project to occupy your time this winter or perhaps something that can help wildlife and add a little color to your property? The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency would like to suggest that you consider building some bluebird nest boxes to erect in February.
Each year in the late winter, one of Tennessee’s most attractive songbirds begins to look for suitable nest sites. In February and March, bluebird pairs seek out hollow cavities in decaying trees and wooden fence posts to nest and raise their young.
Eastern bluebirds were one of the first birds to appear around the homesteads of Tennessee settlers. During the 1800’s and 1900’s, hollow wooden fence posts were plentiful and bluebirds had an abundance of nest sites, but today’s metal fence posts have eliminated many potential sites. Luckily, help for the bluebird is as simple as building or buying a bluebird box and placing it 5 to 10 feet off the ground in a fairly open area.
Construction of a bluebird box is easy. Boxes should be made of untreated wood. They should have a cavity 8 inches deep with a floor 5 inches wide and 5 inches long. The entrance should be 6 inches above the floor and the entrance hole should be 1½ inches in diameter.
Other beneficial birds, such as chickadees and wrens, may take up residence in a bluebird box. House sparrows may be a real problem when boxes are located near buildings.
Bluebirds are territorial, so boxes should not be located within 100 yards of each other. Bluebirds prefer open fields like those of farm pastures, parks, cemeteries, or golf courses, but any large grass field or yard will do. Nest boxes in densely wooded areas are rarely used by bluebirds.
If you would like to assist one of Tennessee’s most beautiful wild creatures, put up a bluebird box during the month of February.