Discover the eastern bluebird at Up Yonda Farm.  Our open field provides ideal habitat for this colorful spring and summer resident. 

Good Company     by John Burns
    There is a peaceful feeling when one hears the gentle, flute like "...Cheer, Cheerful, Charmer. Cheer, Cheerful, Charmer..." on a warm summer day. What a great description of the call of one of our most beloved songbirds! There is something about the eastern bluebird that... just makes it good company. Whether it is the iridescent hue of blue on the male, or the quaint boxes they choose to nest in, or maybe the quiet, gentle demeanor as it perches; the eastern bluebird excites us with their presence. And they should! They deservedly, are our state bird.
    The eastern bluebird is a success story in recent times. Populations in the early part of our century plummeted due to exotic competitors that were introduced to N. America (such as the European starling and the house sparrow), and due to the loss of habitat via the reforestation of farm land. In the 1970's, a Cornell based group began to rally the public troops and set up eastern bluebird trails. They placed bluebird boxes in long lines to encourage the cavity nesting bird to take a mock, man made cavity instead. Public support and initiative has spread ever since causing eastern bluebird populations to grow to healthy levels again.
    Every spring, Up Yonda Farm presents a Bluebird Building program where participants can assemble bluebird boxes for their yards. People learn about eastern bluebird habitat and behaviors, as well as territorial and courtship behavior. Folks learn valuable placement tips for boxes (nest boxes should be placed in open areas), and development stages and schedules of the young. Believe it or not, monitoring boxes is beneficial rather than harmful, you can deter predators and competitors, while preventing parasites from causing to much harm (like the bluebird blowfly).
    We have had a lot of activity around our boxes here at Up Yonda. The first sightings happen in late March of every year. In early spring a lot of displaying occurs, while bluebirds may wait one to six weeks before building their nests in a chosen box. Every summer we have at least two of eighteen boxes become occupied by eastern bluebirds. Bluebird boxes can become used by black capped chickadees, tree swallows, wrens, and tufted titmice, and that's O.K., because they are good company too.
    Last year, we watched two pairs of eastern bluebirds raise two broods (separate young) each, and hopefully, they will do the same this year. It is bird watching at its best as we get to silently observe the raising of young. There comes a sense of satisfaction that our boxes have helped rear the next generation of "good company." If you have any questions do not hesitate to call or stop by Up Yonda Farm.

Follow these links for more information on the eastern bluebird.

http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/
http://www.nysbs.com/