Birds DunRite

There is a three-step training program to help bluebirds become accustomed to eating from bluebird feeders.  The first step is to help them find the bird feeders, the second is for them to go inside to eat, and the third is to have them eating raisins and currants when the dogwood berries are gone.

Training must be done early before sever weather sets in.  It may take as little as a day or as long as a month for the bluebirds to find the feeder, but most find it in less than a week.  This training is important because if the bluebirds know where the bluebird feeders are, they can visit them with no delay and will be able to roost during a cold storm with a full crop.

Place the feeder in the best location to observe.  The south side of some form of windbreak provides an ideal location for bluebird feeders during very cold, windy weather.  Bluebirds primarily eat insects when available and supplement this main diet with various fruits and berries.  Raisins, sunflower chips, nut meats and meal worms are readily eaten by bluebirds.

To encourage them to start taking food,  it is helpful to place two or three temporary flat, open trays on support posts near their regular hunt perch sites.  Feed on these trays will be visible to birds perched above.  Place no feed inside the bluebird feeders to begin with until the birds actually start investigating inside.  It sometimes helps to place a few berries around the bird bath or on the ground below the feeder.  Bluebird feeders should be placed in areas that are visible to the birds.  It is not recommended to place the feeders close to bluebird or other bird houses.

The help you will give the bluebirds during the winter is well worth all the effort to teach them to eat from your bluebird feeders.

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