Bluebirds
|
Article by: Tammy Clayton Copyright © 2005 Tammy Clayton This brightly colored bird , Bedrooms – Should Be A Safe Haven has always been a romantic symbol for their unusual coloring as well as their gentle loving nature. , The Garden Wall In Victorian times, they were a common artful addition to romantic floral artwork on greeting cards and calling cards. Today, it is a rare thing to see a Bluebird flitting about. The Bluebird is a native American. When European colonists originally settled this land, they had been here for thousands of years. It is believed that when the virgin forest on the east coast was in the first stages of being cleared, the Bluebird flourished and became more abundant. Its original adversary the Wren also became more plentiful right along with them though. The Wren is far more aggressive that the Bluebird and searches for a very similar type of abode. So as both species multiplied, the wrens made it hard for the Bluebird to make a home , Fall Lawn Care unless it faced due east. Two events in history caused the dwindling of our brilliant blue , Benefits Of Gardening For Kids native's numbers. The ships that carried the influx of human immigrants to our shores in 1851 and 1890 also gave passage to two feathered immigrants from Europe; the House , Homemade Hummingbird Nectar Sparrow and the Starling. Both of these newcomers were adapted to the crowded industrial environments , Prepare for Winter Before It Arrives of urban and suburban Germany and England. The Sparrow already was known to have spread on that continent. Being resourceful, they quickly adapted to living in rural farmland. Both Sparrows and Starlings like a roof , Homemade Hummingbird Nectar over their head. The new squatters aggressively put pressure on the gentle Bluebirds and took over their nests. With so many people inhabiting the United States today, it is little wonder we see very little of the country loving Bluebird. There is a growing , Gardening information and design ideas interest in the creation of housing for this beloved species beyond the bird-watching enthusiasts. The Bluebird house , How to Plant a Tree is becoming a popular addition to backyards, , Top 10 Questions to Ask a Builder before Buying a Swimming P school property , The Garden Wall lines and farms , 8 Ways Carpet Cleaning Companies Take Advantage Of You again. Bluebird houses , Help Your Backyard Plants Get the Nutrients They Need were first put up in the late 1800's by bird , Plants For Establishing a Hedge in Buckingham Township Pa. lovers trying to accommodate their need for housing after the Sparrows and Starlings took over the easily accessible barn rafters, nooks in houses, , Planting Roses In Your Garden hollow trees , Native s and Plants For Bedford County Pa and fence posts across America. Natural , Colour in the Garden nesting sites have also grown more scarce as farmers now manicure their orchards, , Supplying Water to your Cabin with a Driven Well and wooden , Carpet Stain Removers - What You Didn't Know fence posts have fallen out of use in exchange for metal , Dish Network Satellite Accessories: Universal Remote Control ones. By the 1930's bird , Carpet Stain Removers - What You Didn't Know watchers were already wondering what happened to all those sweet singing beauties of days not so long gone by. The first studies of Bluebird nesting habits were conducted in 1919 in Minnesota. Successful nest sites were measured for the size of the holes, as well as for the exact location , Top 10 Questions to Ask a Builder before Buying a Swimming P and the role of predators and competitors. The tests were done in open pastures, orchards , Improving Deer Quality in Rural Pa and suburban back yards. , Dish Network Satellite Accessories: Universal Remote Control Concluding that only with massive saturations of scientifically designed predator-competitor proof nesting boxes could the decline of the Bluebird be stopped. So they established and monitored Bluebird trails with tens to hundreds of nesting boxes strung out across the land. The monitors set up communication networks in newspapers, magazines and the mail. Wherever there were Bluebird trail sponsors, Bluebirds began to reappear for people to enjoy. It is quite a thrill to see one, especially when one understands the odds against their gentle souls. It needn't be inevitable that Bluebirds, once the most common thing in a yard, , Attracting Hummingbirds continue to loose ground against these alien intruders. Their population has dwindled and become so low, they are almost like a myth. Our Eastern Bluebird has suffered the most serious in loss. Amateurs and bird , Gardening for Kids lovers alike can accomplish the hob in restoring the numbers of our native azure friends. The trails already in existence across the UDA and Canada form a network of hope across the continent. Armies of trail tenders and box erectors will bring more and more of them back to your yards , Avoid Problems: Painting Aluminum And Vinyl Siding as the number of boxes grows , Is Your Geranium Turning Yellow? greater. Found only in North America, these sweet noted dwellers of fence posts have a tender voice to go along with their gentle nature. , Fall Lawn Care No other species of bird , "DECORATING YOUR ENTRANCE FOYER" has been used as much as the Bluebird in poetry and songs as a symbol of love, hope and happiness. The early settlers looked upon this bird , Same Day Flower Delivery as the sign that spring , How to Plant a Tree had arrived, and fondly called it the Blue , Wind Chimes Go Great With Gardening Robin. In Michigan, as all the other states east of the Rocky Mountains, we have the Eastern Bluebird. There are only two others—Western and Mountain. Their diet is mainly insects, most of which are yard , Improving Deer Quality in Rural Pa and garden , ing information and design ideas pests. In the spring , Fall Lawn Care they love the cutworms that ruin crops and garden , Garage Sale Checklist - a Guide To Hassle-Free Sales plants. Later in the summer , Robot Lawn Mowers: More Than Your Usual Mower through fall , Moose Antler Art they dine on huge quantities of grasshoppers and wild berries. It is said that their courtship is beautiful , "DECORATING YOUR ENTRANCE FOYER" and amazing, but it is a rare sight to behold. The Bluebird is very territorial, the male protecting his food , Colour in the Garden supplies from other male Bluebirds' trespassing. The nesting site must have sufficient food , Bedrooms – Should Be A Safe Haven for them to raise their young and exist themselves for them to be tempted to set up housekeeping. Only the female builds the nest in the chosen shelter, while the male accompanies her solely by singing his encouragement while she works. Nest building , Attracting Hummingbirds starts in mid-May in Michigan and 3 to 5 clear blue , Beautifying The Garden Or Yard With A Bench eggs are laid in the clutch. The baby birds grow , Fall Lawn Care alarmingly fast, ready to leave the next in 15 to 20 days after hatching. By that time they are strong enough to fly fifty to one hundred feet their first attempt at flight to the nearest perch. By early September most Bluebirds have finished up their family responsibilities for the season. , Beyond Paint: Decorating Walls With Stencils A fortunate pair will have raised two or even three broods by that time. During the fall, , Prepare for Winter Before It Arrives families of Bluebirds roam leisurely through the countryside on a quest for insects and berries in great abundance. Over these travels, different families join together in a loose flock, as they get ready for migrating. The date of their heading south is timed more by the weather , Improving Deer Quality in Rural Pa and food , Peace of Mind for Home Inspections supply than by the calendar. They migrate in search for food , Robot Lawn Mowers: More Than Your Usual Mower and congregate in more southern parts of their regions. It is not that the Bluebird cannot spend winter , Peace of Mind for Home Inspections in the northern areas like Michigan, quite to the contrary they will stay as long as the food , Colour in the Garden supply lasts. Planting trees, , Homemade Hummingbird Nectar shrubs , "DECORATING YOUR ENTRANCE FOYER" and vines with berries that last through the winter , Homemade Hummingbird Nectar will provide much needed foor for wintering birds. , Joyful Autumn Rose Growing Bittersweet, flowering , Top 10 Questions to Ask a Builder before Buying a Swimming P Dogwood, Cotoneasters, Washington Hawthorns, Privet, Sumac, Pyracantha, flowering , Buying flowers in bulk for best prices Crabapples, Virginia Creeper, multiflora Roses , Plants and Trees Native to North Penn Township Pa. (rose hips), and Mountain Ash are all favorite food , Help Your Backyard Plants Get the Nutrients They Need sources in the cold season , Planting Roses In Your Garden for birds , Same Day Flower Delivery that thrive in the northern climates. , "DECORATING YOUR ENTRANCE FOYER" They can sometimes be tempted to feeding stations with raisins, other fruits , Plants For Establishing a Hedge in Buckingham Township Pa. and berries and chopped unsalted peanuts, but they are not seed , Plants and Trees Native to North Penn Township Pa. eaters so you will never find them eating from normal bird , "DECORATING YOUR ENTRANCE FOYER" feeders. Should the small fruits , Same Day Flower Delivery and berries they depend on become crusted with ice and snow, , Gardening for Kids the effort of providing food , Supplying Water to your Cabin with a Driven Well will keep them from starving to death. If they are forced to go to roost hungry, bitter cold , Flax Seed Will Add A Little Extra Flavor To Your Recipes will cause many of them to die. Properly built winter , History of Mattresses houses are enough protection from severe weather , How to Plant a Tree for them to live year round even in the north. To accommodate them for winter , How to Plant a Tree roosting, the box should be large enough to shelter a number of birds. , Homemade Humming Nectar Floor , Increasing the Value of Your Home with Kitchen Remodeling dimensions should be 10" x 10", with a depth of 18" and a width of 24". The hole must be 1 1/2" or Starlings will move in on them, and needs to be at the bottom of the box with a perch placed beneath it. Several horizontal perches should be positioned inside , Wind Chimes Go Great With Gardening at various levels at staggered intervals up one sidewall using 1/2" doweling The side of the box should be hinged to allow cleaning in the spring. , Avoid Problems: Painting Aluminum And Vinyl Siding The box must be at least 6 feet of the ground to protect them from predators while they sleep, using a smooth metal , Embrace Your Soul With Flowers pole that is greased so that nothing can climb it to reach the box. Place , Wind Chimes Go Great With Gardening the winter , Moose Antler Art roosts facing south for the most warmth from the sun. , Colour in the Garden For nesting boxes, again the hole should measure only 1 1/2" and be situated about 5 foot off the ground for observance of the young in the nest. But for the nesting the hole should be toward the top of the box to protect the young from cold , Robot Lawn Mowers: More Than Your Usual Mower drafts. The nesting box must face due east. Nesting boxes cannot be any closer than 100 foot apart. Too many boxes will result in no Bluebirds—remember they are territorial and will only reside where they know there is enough food , Plants For Establishing a Hedge in Buckingham Township Pa. for themselves and their young. Small air , Gardening information and design ideas holes should be put next to the roof , Peace of Mind for Home Inspections board, and drainage should be provided in the floor , Peace of Mind for Home Inspections so it will not fill up with water. , Benefits Of Gardening For Kids The roof , Benefits Of Gardening For Kids should be slanted downward in the front to stop rain from blowing into the nest. What a delightful preserve to add to your yard, , Embrace Your Soul With Flowers create your own Bluebird Reserve. Stop spraying the cutworms and grasshoppers, plant , s For Establishing a Hedge in Buckingham Township Pa. oodles of berry-bearing plants, , Top 10 Questions to Ask a Builder before Buying a Swimming P and erect proper housing for both seasons , Homemade Hummingbird Nectar in a suburban to rural setting and trust me, they will inspect the site and set to building , Robot Lawn Mowers: More Than Your Usual Mower a nest. -------------------- For more great Gardening , Benefits Of For Kids articles, visit: http://www.LostInTheFlowers.com About the Author Raised by a highly respected & successful landscape , Attracting Hummingbirds contractor in the metro Detroit area, Clayton wanted a career in anything but landscaping! , Colour in the Garden Now an award-winning landscape , Planting Roses In Your Garden designer, Clayton runs Flowerville Farms, a mail-order nursery in Michigan. Read more at LostInTheFlowers.com. |
  
|
mygarden.net.au Gardening | Landscaping | Climate Change | Home Improvement | How To DIY | Home Garden | Interior Design | Home Security | Home Finance | Forum | DIY | Add Your Link |