Bird Watching: Bluebird house, 1 by 2dCousinDave

2dCousinDave wrote:
Birder, I was going to mention that your feeder was the same as my small one. It was designed and offered for sale by Cher Layton on her Bluebirdnut Cafe forum a few years ago. She also designed the larger, round one that is available now, but she sold the rights to a company that makes them. But she still sells the larger one.

I use large meal worms exclusively. Once they were sold out so I bought jumbos. They ate them but they had to break them up. Looked like the titmice or the chickadees, biting off tiny pieces of a worm.

I feed woodpeckers, several pair of Carolina wrens, several pair of titmice and several pair of song sparrows, in addition to the bluebirds. I go through 25 thousand large a month in the winter and about 15 thousand a month after the parents chase the youngsters away in the Spring. I order them from Rainbow in Los Angeles and they are very reliable. They ship FedEx second day air. Costs me just over $50 per 10K shipped. I used to buy 500 at a time from PetSmart or from Wild Birds Unlimited, but just couldn't bring myself to pay so much for so few.. Plus, I never liked all the meal they packed them in.

I also had a problem with refrigerator space. My wife absolutely wiould not allow them in either the fridge in the kitchen or the extra one in the garage, so when I started hosting BB's I went to Lowe's and bought my own full size refrigerator to keep in my basement shop. My wife wanted me to get the small size fridge too but since I had lots of space, I opted for a 17 cu footer. We had a long argument about it. Nothing in it but worms and diet Pepsi. Now when she asks if she can store something in my fridge, or my freezer, it makes my day. Of course, she washes everything she takes out of my refrigerator, even if it was in the freezer.

I also do not bother to feed the worms. I agree it is too much trouble. I turn them over in three weeks or so and have never had a problem.

Here is one of mine, taken this morning.


Before I forget, I would mention that the dish you use must be heavy enough that the wind won't blow it over and one that has slick sides and is deep enough that the meal worms won't crawl out. In warmer weather the worms really wiggle and crawl, looking for shade. Something like a small ash tray works pretty well, if it is deep enough.

This message was edited Mar 1, 2011 3:24 PM