Starting a Nest Box Trail

Finding Suitable Habitat

Habitat is the key factor to consider when setting up a nest box trail. Suitable habitat should:

  • Be an open area with scattered trees and low ground cover that allows Eastern Bluebirds to hunt for insects and spiders. Pastures, parks, golf courses, meadows, and cemeteries are ideal places.
  • Have a nearby water source such as a stream, bird bath, or rain garden.
  • Include perch sites, such as fence lines, overhead wire, or tree branches, where the bluebirds can alight to search for food and guard their nests.
  • Not be brushy or heavily wooded. The house wren, a native cavity nester that competes with the bluebird for nesting sites, prefers these habitats. Nest boxes should be at least 20 feet away from tree canopies and shrubs to prevent predators from climbing up shrubs or dropping from trees onto the box.
  • Not be dominated by House Sparrows since they are invasive. House Sparrows prefer being near buildings.
  • Not be areas where pesticides are used.

Contact us to help with choosing a suitable site for a new nest box trail and to help with training the new nest box monitoring team.

Building and Positioning Nest Boxes

Nest boxes should:

  • Be built with the designs listed on there Virginia Bluebird Society website.
  • Ideally, be built using cedar because it lasts so much longer than pine. Loudoun Lumber in Purcellville, VA, can order STK Western Red Cedar lumber in 1×10. It takes about 5 days to arrive after the order is placed. The point of contact is Ed and the contact number is 540-338-1840.
  • Be an approved design and have predator guards – a Noel guard and a stovepipe baffle – to prevent snakes, raccoons, squirrels, and mice from accessing the box. The Virginia Bluebird Society offers grants to cover the cost of materials for a nest box, pole, and guards using these designs.
  • Be spaced at least 100 yards apart. In areas where tree swallows are present, two boxes can be placed close together (5 to 25 feet apart) and both species will usually nest together peaceably.
  • Be mounted on a pole (never on a tree), 4 to 5 feet above the ground, facing a shrub or tree with low branches (for a fledgling’s maiden flight).
  • Be facing the east, northeast, or southeast with the entrance hole pointing away from the prevailing wind and towards open habitat.
  • Ideally, be in place by the end of February or earlier if possible.