Bluebird feeding

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Late this fall I had a dozen bluebirds hanging around my place so I ordered a big box of mealworms for feeding but the BB's disappeared the day before my shipment arrived. I didn't see them again for almost 2 weeks, after that I would see a single bird at times but would be gone by the time I got the meal worms out. Well today there were 5 BB's perched on my T-14, I got some worms out while they were watching and within 5 minutes all 5 were having a feast. I had to refill the bowl, when I looked out the window a bluebird was hovering over the area where I had placed the bowl. Hope the BB's will remember the free meal and show up again tomorrow.

[D'Nese]

Ray, I too have BB's that has stayed for the winter. I've found once you start feeding them, they will come. They wait on my deck railing every morning. When we get up and the kitchen light goes on they show up. It's like the dinner bell has rung. I have been using the same blue bowl ( it is a saucer for a plant pot) and they know what it means. I love seeing them in the morning. I think its a race to eat before the mockingbird shows up and chases them away. I use to shoo him away but found its a losing battle, LOL.

What i've found this year is that there is one pair that seems to hog the bowl and chase away the others. I wasn't aware that they were so territorial at this time of the year. I've placed worms on a patio table on another part of the deck just for those who can't eat from the bowl. Harmony is now in place.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

The BB's were out there at 7AM this morning waiting for breakfast.

[Louise Chambers]

I'm glad to hear folks are feeding their bluebirds - winter storms can make it hard for them to find food, especially if ice coats berries or fruit they would normally feed on.

Here is a winter dough recipe for bluebirds from Julie Zickefoose - bluebirds love it. Carolina Wrens and other birds will eat it, including cardinals.

NEW ZICK DOUGH: SMALL BATCH

Melt in the microwave and stir together:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup lard

In a large mixing bowl, combine
2 cups chick starter *
2 cups quick oats
1 cup yellow cornmeal and
1 cup flour

Add melted lard/peanut butter mixture to the combined dry ingredients and mix well.

* Julie: Be sure to use unmedicated chick starter. Check the label--the last thing we want is to give antibiotics to wild birds! A good choice is DuMor chick starter - check feed stores. A small bag is 20 lbs."

You can make a bigger batch, but do the melting on stove and then have large pot for mixing it all up. Might need to use your hands after initial stirring. The final product is crumbles, not a solid mass - place the Zick Dough in a small bowl or tray feeder. A covered feeder will protect it from rain/snow.

Julie writes about all kinds of birds but has a long history with bluebirds, she's author of Enjoying Bluebirds More. She has a blog (http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/ ) and website that are nature related. I don't have bluebirds here but going to make some dough for my other birds. There are older versions of this recipe out there but this new version is best, avoids risk of birds getting gout!

[bwenger]

Hi Louise, thanks for the recipe!

Does it need to be quick oats? Just wondering, don't want to have to go buy quick oats if I have the regular oats.

I bet you miss the NW Pa winters. It has only been above freezing 2 or 3 times in the last month.

Enjoy the nice weather in Corpus Christi.

Bill

[rickluc]

Thought I would post here a question on Bluebird houses. I got one of my bird catalogs the other day. I see on the few pages dedicated to Bluebirds, they are advertising as Sparrow Reistant Bluebird Houses. What makes them Sparrow resistant? Thanks

[bwenger]

Rick,

From what I have heard, it's the size of the opening. With that said, it may be similar to a SREH for our beloved martins.

Have a good birding year.

Bill

[Guest]

I think I will make some of this for the wkend. I have several winter bluebirds and I have been seeing them at the heated birdbath. I feed sunflower seeds and occ suite. These poor guys must b starving.

[Louise Chambers]

Bill,

Quick oats are rolled oats that have been chopped up a bit for quicker cooking. The smaller pieces may be more appealing to birds and probably absorb the peanut butter and lard a bit better. I imagine substitution is okay, or you could process your rolled oats very briefly in blender or processor to break them up just a bit.

Someone else asked if the cornmeal and flour could be self-rising, or would that be harmful to the birds? Probably not; If the dough was cooked I would say fine, but since this is served uncooked, I would suggest getting plain flour and cornmeal to use instead. I am going to use up my older flour and cornmeal, help me clean out the cupboards a bit

Remember, the end product will be crumbly, not something to go into a suet cage. Feed on a platform or dish. Share photos of the results if you like - should be fun.

[Louise Chambers]

Rick, what makes a bluebird box house sparrow-resistant is the combination of dimensions rather than entrance hole size. A house sparrow can get into anything a bluebird can, so they can't be prevented by hole size.

I used Andy Troyer's sparrow-resistant bluebird house in PA and never once had house sparrows try to nest, but it always housed bluebirds (and never tree swallows). Andy's design is based on scrunching down the inside space so there's not room for HOSP to build their big ball of a nest inside.

I have not used other sparrow-resistant designs so can't comment on those, but maybe others can. I have heard a lot about Gilbertson houses.

Bill, I sure don't miss driving in PA winter weather but I do miss winter birdfeeding. We feed here and it's fun but different. One thing that's great, we get loads of cardinals at feeders in winter, same as up north. Such a pretty sight