Bluebird Banquet Mixture
● MIX 1 cup peanut butter 
● 4 cups yellow cornmeal 
● 1 cup unbleached or whole-wheat flour 
● ADD 1 cup fine sunflower seed chips 
● 1 cup peanut hearts (or finely ground nuts) 
● 1/2-1 cup Zante currants (or raisins cut in halves, or chopped dried cherries)
● Add 1 cup dried mealworms.
● DRIZZLE and STIR IN 1 cup rendered, melted suet 
Cool.
Resulting mix will be crumbly and should have bean/pea sized lumps from the drizzling of the melted suet. If too sticky after cooling, mix in a bit more flour. If too dry, drizzle in more melted suet. Refrigerate any mix you are not using to prevent suet from turning rancid. 
You can use a commercial pure bird suet cake, or render your own suet. Grind or cube butcher store suet. Melt over low heat. Watch carefully as suet is a fat and can start on fire with too high heat. A microwave can be used. Strain out the stringy bits (cracklings). Cool. 
NOTE: This mixture is very popular with bluebirders. Some say you can use solid shortening in place of the suet and it works fine. You may want to double up on the amount of suet if the recipe is too crumbly.

 ​                                      A Bluebirds Nesting Timetable 

Nest Building - 7 to 10 days grass, rootlets or pine needles or all three items
Egg Laying -    One egg a day, mid-morning 5 to 7 days generally 4 to 5 eggs laid. 
Incubation -    14 to 17 days depends on weather conditions 
                                        
                                           Hatch day as follows;
Day 1- Bright coral pink skin, eyes sealed downy feathers on head and body.
Day 2 to 4 - Wings, head, and spine look bluish due to developing feathers emerging under skin.
Day 5 to 7 – Feathers sheaths begin to emerge on wings, eyes still closed.
Day 7 – First feathers burst from tips of sheaths, eyes open as slits, brooding by female stops (cold weather conditions brooding may continue.)
Day 8 to 11 – Eyes fully open, feathers continue to burst out from sheaths.
Day 11 to 12 – Feathers on wings and tail reveal cobalt blue on males, duller gray-blue on females, female eastern bluebirds show white edging on outer tail feathers.
Day 13 – Cut-off date for nest box checks. Fully feathered young become increasingly active and may fledge prematurely if box is opened.
Day 14 to 22 – Fledglings first flight, Empty nest flattened and young remain in cover while parents bring food, being cared for by the parents outside the nest box they are now termed as Fledglings.
Day 28 – Fledglings fly strongly following parents who feed them for 2 to 3 weeks. 
Day 30 – Fledglings feed unassisted, now termed as juvenile birds.
After maturing and molting into their true colors they become an adult bird. 
Bluebirds can have up to 3 nesting’s a year. Even 4 have been reported. 

Note : Female bluebird may build a completed nest, but delay egg laying for weeks, due to cold weather no active insects or she decided to build elsewhere because of house sparrows intrusion. I can fairly say we do not know why at times and bluebirds can be unpredictable.  

Harry Schmeider
448 Portman Rd
Butler, Pa. 16002
harryschmeider@gmail.com
 
Personal Website   ambassadorforthebluebirds.net 

What I like about the end of the nesting season is watching the juvenile bluebirds grow. After following mom and dad around for about a month after fledging, they now defend for themselves. Still with that speckled feather look, “known to all thrushes” they really do look cute. As the feathers begin to grow and molting begins to take place, the colors of the bluebird begin to show.
 Molting is an interesting process. Bluebird nestlings have a complete molt after nesting, molting into their basic plumage. Molting occurs in response to a mixture of hormonal changes brought about by growth and seasonal changes. The entire process is very complex. A feather is a "dead" structure, somewhat like hair or nails in humans. The hardness of a feather is caused by the formation of the protein called ( Keratin. ) Since feathers cannot heal themselves when damaged, they have to be completely replaced. The replacement of all or part of the feathers is called a molt. Molts produce feathers that match the age and sex of the bird, and sometimes the season. Damaged feathers are replaced during a molt. A feather that has been lost completely is replaced immediately.
Watching junior molt and grow gives me great satisfaction, especially knowing once his kind was at the brink of extinction. The gratification comes from being a landlord and experiencing the nesting process of these beautiful birds. Though the bluebird’s nesting season here in Pennsylvania is coming to a close, we landlords still can enjoy the bluebirds in watching Junior grow.

Sipping on a warm hazelnut coffee and enjoying the cool morning air of September, I noticed bluebirds flying into my backyard. More and more were arriving, soon there was a flock of bluebirds flying from tree to tree and darting to the ground forging for insects. They seem to be fighting over the nest box or maybe checking it over for the next nesting season. They acted as if they made claim on my backyard chasing away other birds that was intruding in their air space. Many small crickets and grasshoppers are on the ground this time of the year and the bluebirds were taking advantage of this easy food source. The bluebirds kept coming closer and closer to the patio where I was sitting and seeing so many bluebirds all at the same time was sheer joy. Early fall is when many birds flock together because there is safety in numbers, and the mature birds know how to locate food during the seasonal changes. By flocking together the juvenile bird’s survival increases and they continue to learn what nature has to offer and hopefully learn what skills are needed to survive.    

All three species of bluebirds share some similar migration behaviors. They all migrate during the day and many join up with resident flocks of bluebirds to find food, water and roost sites. Fall migration seems to be determined by the shortening of daylight rather than weather. Food is still plentiful and weather conditions are still pleasant when they begin to depart. Weather can influence migration, however birds may linger for longer periods at foraging sites when the weather is mild. When weather turns inclement, it may cause them to move south at a faster pace. Its important to note that not all bluebirds go south for the winter, as long as there is food to be found some stay all winter long.
Seeing so many bluebirds together is an awesome site to behold. I hope you too will experience this migrating habit of bluebirds flocking together.

How to monitor your bluebird nest box
Monitoring a bluebird nest box can be a quick process and doesn’t need to take longer than a minute or two. It’s imperative that you check on your nest box as least once a week to monitor the progress of your bluebird nest and address any problems. It’s important to remember that bluebirds are very accepting of human interaction and will never abandon a nest because of monitoring.  However, it’s usually best to monitor a nest when the adult male and female are not inside.  If you’re not sure if a bluebird is not inside the nest box, you can make a whistle or call to alert them to your presence. There are two primary functions of monitoring:  checking for problems and hazards and recording the progress of your bluebird nest.  For this reason, you’ll want to have a log forms to record things such as when bluebirds arrive, started building a nest, lay their eggs, how many eggs, hatch, how many fledged, predator problems and etc. You can download the necessary forms from the Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania's website. These forms are easy to use and are self explanatory. Your recorded information is very useful to the Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania. Visit the link on the right side column of this website.       

Monitoring in early spring
In the onset of spring, before bluebirds arrive, you want to check and make sure your bluebird nest box is ready for the upcoming breeding season. Look for holes, cracks or other damage.  It’s also a good idea to make sure that the size of the entrance hasn't been altered by other birds. Also make sure that wasps haven’t built a nest on the ceiling of your nest box, as their presence will prevent bluebirds from nesting. Lastly, install a predator guard to prevent climbing predators such as raccoons and snakes. 

Bluebird courtship and nest building
Male bluebirds will arrive before females to establish territory.  Their arrival dates depends on geography, as bluebirds arrive at warmer destinations earlier, but the general range is between mid-February and March in Pennsylvania. Once the male arrives, he will attempt to attract the female through a courtship songs, flight such as wing waving. This will often occur around the nest box.  If the female likes the male and the nest box, she will begin building the nest immediately.  Nest construction takes on average 4-5 days.

Monitoring egg laying
Eggs are laid in the morning, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:30 A.M., and you should avoid monitoring around this time. The female will lay an egg a day, sometimes missing a day if it’s cold or rainy.  The number of eggs laid varies by bluebird species, but will usually be no more than eight and generally 4-5.  The female will spend time away from the nest during the egg laying period, but if you do open the nest box while she is there, simply close the door gently and come back another time. Preferably the afternoon time may be a better time.

Monitoring Incubation
The female will not begin incubation until she has laid her last egg, after which the incubation period will last approximately 14 days.  During this period, you should allow the female privacy. If it is a rainy season you may want to check the nest to see if it is dry. A wet nest poses danger to the eggs not hatching or the chicks perishing due to hypothermia. Here is when a Monitor comes in handy to replace the grass nest with a dry one. Carefully replace the eggs or nestlings into your dry cup nest and place into the nest box. Congratulations; you just saved bluebirds from perishing.    

Nestlings
During the first few days after young birds are hatched, the father brings them food, while the mother continues to remain on top of the nest to keep the nestlings warm; this is called brooding.  You may notice the adults departing the nest with a white blob in their bills.  These are fecal sacs, which the adults remove from the nest to keep it clean. During the nestling stage, the most important function of monitoring is to ensure that the nestlings aren't attacked by predators. House sparrows, raccoons, cats and even snakes will all prey on newly-born bluebirds.This is why it is so important to make use of predator guards. If you find an injured bluebird, or a bluebird that needs assistance you can take it to the nearest wildlife rehabilitation clinic found on this website's right column. ( A bluebird needs help) After approximately 20 days, the nestlings will become fledglings and leave the nest. If you make it to this stage, you will have successfully raised a new brood of bluebirds! Congratulations!! You are now a successful landlord Monitor to these once threaten species.
  

551 S PIKE RD                                   239 GROVE CITY RD.
Sarver, Pa. 16055                      Slippery Rock Pa. 16057
724-295-5131                            724-794-6615  
             Remember to use RAW Linseed Oil on Nestboxes 

  
Most of my studies and the books I have read, indicate that 70% of Bluebird nestlings do not make it through the first year. On average, 40% die in the first 30 days after leaving the nest. This is when the fledglings are most vulnerable. After 90 days the juvenile’s chances increase. But another 30% do not make it through the first year. If I recall correctly, if they survive the first year the mortality rate drops to 20%. Now much depends on weather, availability of food, experience/age of the parents, geographic region, urban vs. rural areas, disease, pesticides and predators), etc. So the percentile varies. In general, the more physically developed the young are when they leave the nest, the greater their chances are of survival. A fledgling's chance of survival (measured by ornithologists in terms of future recaptures) increases in proportion to its mass at fledgling. The quality of parental care, the number of siblings competing for that care, and the timing of fledging are also important factors.
 Bluebirds dealing with nature, life become a challenge and often the obstacles are so over whelming, but the bluebirds have met them head on; their perseverance is an example of that in the last 200 years. Of all the obstacles they must face today, a nest cavity should not be one of them. This is where conservation plays a big role. Bluebirds and other cavity Nesters rely heavily on nest boxes that landlords provide to raise their young. Install a nest box today and enjoy the gratification being a Landlord to these beautiful birds.
                                        --- Installing A Nest Box ---
When installing a nest box, please remember bluebirds are territorial (150 yards apart) also  install a predator guard on the conduit pipe (1 inch diameter) 5 or 5 1/2 feet high. your nose to the 1 1/2" hole to the nest box. Place the nest box in the most open area in your yard to help keep wrens from using the nest box. Sparrow problems see Sparrow Trap topic.​ 

Wooden nest boxes are found to be cooler according to Cornell, Heat Shields and Screens can be very effective at controlling temperatures inside the nest box. Also a second roof over the primary roof using Styrofoam works like a cooler. We Bluebirders do all we can to help these birds to survive. As temperature and storms increase in severity we need to look at ways to control temperature inside the nest box.