Humans naturally seek happiness—some carry lucky charms or
practice mystic rituals to attract it. Others find inviting blue birds to the yard
does the job. Apparently, such choices aren’t unique to modern humans. For
eons, world cultures have honored timid, sky-colored creatures as omens of good
fortune.
Nearly 2000 years before Christ, Chinese storytellers wrote
about a bluebird that delivered messages from the Queen Mother of the West, an
immortal. Native American societies also celebrated these brilliantly-hued
beings. Some tales associate them with the rising sun. In fact, the Navajo
still sing the bluebird song as part of their winter Nightway Ceremony.
European cultures, as well, included these beauties in literature involving a
fairy-tale search for the bluebird of happiness.
Considering their history, it’s not surprising these pretty
birds are beloved. Unfortunately, like many species, their habitat’s changing
and invasive species increasingly compete for food and nesting sites. Residing
on the prairie is even more difficult for this cavity dweller who seeks hollow
trees or posts to set up housekeeping.
To complicate matters, the azure darts are finicky. They require
nests a 100-yards distant from other hopeful parents and cleared landscape
around their homestead. Healthy sparrow, sharp shinned, and Cooper’s hawk
populations lurk close by, so a view increases survivability for adults and
offspring. However, it makes it difficult to attract the picky rascals to nest
near humans.
Despite these creatures’ suspicious natures, shrewd birders can
entice them to live close enough to watch their broods mature. Visit a garden
shop or online site to learn more about this species’ housing requirements. Carpenters
can construct summer rentals designed specifically to attract them. Others can
buy well-designed blue bird boxes.
Cedar siding offers a good structure choice. Craft a
watertight roof and a floor with small drainage holes. Blue birds aren’t just
harbingers of happiness. They’re tidy as well so select nesting structures with
bottoms that easily open for spring cleanings. One source suggests leaving the inside
unpainted rough wood to encourage easy fledging.
To discourage rival species, build or buy nesting boxes with
entry holes no larger than 1 ½ inches wide. Starlings won’t fit in that opening.
To further discourage invaders, exclude external perches. Blue birds don’t need
them. They’re also satisfied with a 4” x4” nesting space, which is too small
for competing sparrows. Conveniently, such units fit atop fence posts.
After offering species-specific housing, further improve the
environment by providing shallow pans filled with fresh water. Place savory
snacks nearby. Blue birds are insect and fruit eaters so don’t offer seeds. One
authority recommended chopping berries into pieces or even offering meal worms
as motivators to relocate. With plenty of live bugs and wild currant available,
we’ve never bought treats.
Once you convince them to move in, the fun begins. Despite
their shy nature, these heralds of joy are natural entertainers. Their aerial
acrobatics turn insect catching into comic entertainment. Watch mom splash in the birdbath with her
babes for twenty minutes of bliss. Observing them pop in and out of their tiny
doorways as they feed young stills racing pulses and lowers human blood
pressure.
It requires effort to convince blue birds to call your yard theirs, but once
they move in, you’ll see why humans from the beginning of time have invited
them to live nearby and woven them into their shared stories.
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