Another bluebird house added

We got another bluebird house recently.  I hung it nearby to the other one with the big kids this morning before the weather got nasty.  I had The Boy run in the screws with the cordless drill.  The Girl helped carry stuff to and back from the tree.  I find they are more interested in nature if I teach them about it and include them in the activities (as they're capable).

Bluebird house is finally up

A year or so ago, we somehow came to own a bluebird house.  I never mounted it to any trees.

I did research and posted about the right way to hang it up once or twice right around Christmas, but mounting it never came to mind when I was outside for any period of time.  It finally occurred to me to mount the bluebird house after I finished spreading the mulched leaves in the garden today.

Per my research, I mounted it a little over 6' off the ground on the east side of a tree in a relatively open part of the property.  I simply used the two wood screws included the house it and ran them in with our cordless screwdriver; no pilot holes.  Although, I read you can mount them as high up as 15', I wanted to be able to clean it out every year without needing a ladder.  It is also near to some shrubbery for baby birds to hide in when they finally leave the nest as well as low branches and/or fencing to stand on.  It's mounted it to a tree about 12' behind the pool fence.  I also intend to buy and mount a few more elsewhere on the property at a later date.

 

I hope we're successful in attracting bluebirds to the property. 

More Bluebird house info

I talked to my mother-in-law after doing my previous post about setting up Bluebird houses on our property.

It turns out that my in-laws have a few Bluebird houses on their property, as well.  In talking to her, she confirmed that having the houses about 6' up with the holes facing east/southeast is necessary for protection from wind.  She also mentioned that she wraps them in electrical tape when she cleans them out because in her first year of having them up, a predator (racoon, probably) pried up the front flap and got at the eggs.

Seeing my in-laws' Bluebird houses where they are gives me hope that I don't absolutely have to have them set up in a complete clearing.  Although their property doesn't have a lot of undergrowth, it's also not fully cleared, either.  I think I have more options for where I can place bluebird houses than I initially thought.

Setting up Bluebird houses

When we were looking for our house, Wifey and I envisioned getting property that had a lot of wildlife on it.  Although we have a little over 3 acres, other than stuff living on the ground there doesn't seem to be an abundance of flying critters.  That's something I want to remedy.

A few years ago someone gave us a Bluebird house to mount.  We never did so I've been researching what's involved.

From what I'm reading, it needs to be mounted on a metal pole 5' - 15' above the ground in an open area.  It's recommended to not mount it on a tree so as to not attract predators or competing bird species. 

It's recommended to mount the opening toward the short ground cover so the bird can look for food from inside.  Its also a good idea to have a small shrub or two within 100' so baby birds have somewhere to fly and hide when they first leave the nest.  Having it face generally east is a good idea to help protect the opening from harsh winds.  In our new neighborhood, we have most of our storms either come up the East Coast from the south or from the west.  I'll probably face the bird house toward the east.

The North American Bluebird Society recommends mounting the bluebird house prior to when bluebirds are looking for new homes.  Since they are looking for a home when the weather turns warm in the end of March it's recommended to mount the house in February.

I've read that if you want multiple houses, you want them 125+ yards apart.

I guess I have some thinking to do as far as where I can put the bird house.