Bird Watching: Tufted Titmouse, 1 by 2dCousinDave

2dCousinDave wrote:
Linth, let me answer your question and maybe Tabasco's too.

We live in a development. The developer took away most of the trees. The lots are less than half an acre but there are numerous cul-de-sacs and our lot is situated so that there is quite a bit of open space. We have about 500 feet of open space before you reach a tree line. Also, there is a common area of about half an acre immediately behind our lot and there are tall trees there that provide cover for the birds.

We moved here in the laate summer of 2004 and I immediately put up a seed feeder, mostly because we had one from the previous house. The usual birds showed up and I was surprised to see a couple of bluebirds among them. They weren't eating the seeds but they were sorta hanging around. We went to our local Wild Bird Center store to ask advice. They sold us a NABS approved birdhouse and some mealworms. I put the house up and immediately (I mean, within an hour!) the bluebirds found it, claimed it and defended it against any others who might also be interested. They kept this up through the fall and all winter and nested in it in the spring and have since. My one regret is that I only have room for one birdhouse. The bluebirds are very territorial and if you have two males within 300 feet, you will have a war.

I placed the mealworms in a bowl close to the birdhouse and gradually moved it closer to our deck where I keep it now. They come right up to the deck for the worms and even sit outside the window and look in if I am slow to put the worms out. They are out there right now, as a matter of fact.

I have also seen, and photographed other pairs of bluebirds that nest in abandonded woodpecker holes in the trees in the common area behind our lot.

The other thing that is important is water. I have a nice old sundial on a petistal that holds water. It is located near their birdhouse and I keep it filled for them. They prefer it to the big birdbath because the water in the sundial is only an inch to two inches deep when it is full. They consider the sundial theirs too, and defend it as they do the birdhouse. This arrangement has provided me many photo ops and a lot of interesting pictures of bird behavior.

Dave

This message was edited Jan 17, 2008 9:54 AM