Would Love To See Some Bluebirds

My wife really would love to have bluebirds in our backyard but I am not sure what to change to attract them. I would put up some houses or nesting boxes but am unsure exactly what kind is best. Any tips for me?

Bluebirds are beautiful to watch in a backyard. Here are my tips on how to attract them.

They tend to like quiet areas, you say them more in rural backyards.

Bluebirds aren't real picky when it comes to birdhouses, in the wild you often see them utilize bird homes that other birds have abandoned.

You want to make sure your nesting house of bluebird house has a perch, make sure you have some cross ventilation in the side, put some drainage holes in the bottom, and make sure your birdhouse opens at the top so you can clean it out when necessary.

For an opening I would make it 1 and 9/16 inches. Make sure it is less than 1 5/8 or you may get starlings instead!

Rough up the opening and perch a bit with sandpaper to make it easier for babies to get out of the nest too.

I would place your bluebird birdhouse about 5 feet from the ground.

I hope you are successful in attracting bluebirds to your yard, if you are and you work at it you can eventually feed them by hand. Takes some patience though.

Forgot to mention you should have some kind of water available for them too.

Another thing to help encourage them is put some nesting material in an old suet feeder, this will encourage bluebirds to use your nesting box too.

What kind of nesting materials should I use?

Bluebirds seem to like soft grasses or even pine needles that are fairly fragrant.