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studies have shown that old nests left in bluebird houses also harbor the eggs of tiny wasps that feed on the parasites, thereby benefiting the bluebirds that re-use the birdhouse.
In summer bluebirds are insect eaters but in the fall they change their diet to wild fruits. Dogwood, sumac, wild crabapple, viburnum and cedar fruits are preferred fall and early winter fare. Other fruits such as holly and privet only seem to appeal to bluebirds in late winter. Perhaps these fruits mellow in cold weather, or maybe they just don’t appeal to the birds and are eaten only after tastier fruits are no longer available.
On a recent walk, my wife and I found a clump of blue feathers on the ground beneath some red cedar trees. The feathers had apparently been plucked from a bluebird by some predator. We wondered if the Cooper’s hawk we have been seeing here lately might have been the culprit. The similarity in color between the bluebird feathers and the many cedar berries scattered on the ground was remarkable.
The blue in bluebird feathers comes from reflected color, not blue pigment. If you destroy the surface of a bluebird feather by pounding it with a hammer, the feather will turn black. The feather’s surface contains tiny prismlike structures that reflect blue from the surface of an otherwise black feather.
While bluebirds don’t require live insects in winter, they appreciate them as a treat. Some people enjoy feeding bluebirds live mealworms. Meal “worms” are larvae of a tenebrionid beetle. These larvae can be bought at bait stores or pet shops. The cost of providing enough of them to feed a flock of bluebirds daily is prohibitive.
To offset this, you can raise mealworms yourself. As
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