FORSYTH, Ga. — With bluebird nesting season in high gear, Georgian’s can help these brilliantly plumaged birds find the perfect home announces the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

These beloved birds have always charmed us with their tameness, cheerful song, beauty, and most of all, with their fondness for nesting boxes. Typically, bluebirds depend on naturally occurring cavities in snags for nesting, but due to a shortage in these cavities for all nesting bird species, bluebirds have become almost totally dependent on humans for their nesting sites.

“Although some bluebirds have already fledged their first brood of the year, this is still an excellent time to put up man-made bluebird boxes,” said Terry Johnson, WRD’s Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program Manager. “Bluebirds will continue to nest two to three times a year in Georgia.”

The WRD website (www.georgiawildlife.com) offers excellent information on constructing and erecting bluebird boxes along with diagram instructions for both the traditional round hole box and the slot box.

“Research has shown that the slot box design is very well accepted by bluebirds,” said Johnson. “We have also found that they work well at sites where people are having problems with house sparrows, an introduced species that may compete with other cavity-nesting birds.”

The design of the slot box allows for more sunlight to enter the cavity of the box than the traditional round hole box, a less desirable feature for house sparrows.

It is important to erect bluebird boxes in an open habitat with sparse trees and low vegetation, such as old fields, pastures and orchards. Many bluebird nest box efforts fail because boxes have been placed in shrubby and forested conditions. Whenever possible, mount the boxes on poles made of metal or sunlight-resistant PVC pipes equipped with a predator guard.

“If you feel you may not have enough open space in your yard, go ahead and put up a bluebird box because you may encourage other cavity nesters such as the Carolina chickadee or tufted titmouse to take up residence in your newly erected home,” said Johnson.

To obtain a copy of WRD’s information sheet Constructing and Erecting the Perfect Home for Your Bluebirds funded by the Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program’s Friends group The Environmental Resources Network, Inc. (T.E.R.N.), visit WRD’s website www.georgiawildlife.com, click on “Nongame Animals & Plants” and choose “Backyard Wildlife.”

Georgians can support conservation of eastern bluebirds and other nongame wildlife by purchasing a license plate featuring a bald eagle or a hummingbird for their vehicle, or by donating to the “Give Wildlife a Chance” State Income Tax Checkoff. Sales of the wildlife license plates are the primary source of funding for the WRD Nongame Wildlife and Natural Heritage Section.

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