In the beginning I had to whistle a special tune for them to come and get the mealworms.

They laid five eggs, four of which hatched and the four babies are with their parents daily. The videos below were taken of a pair of Bluebirds and their four babies in the 2012 season. However, they do love the treat and will come when they know the free food is coming… This way the adults and babies will remain independent and continue to hunt for food on their own. For two adults with babies I’d give them three teaspoonfuls a day. Once they have been trained to come to the feeder, they should be able to eat all the mealworms offered in less than 2 minutes! In general for an adult pair I’d give them one to two teaspoonfuls of mealworms once a day. If you do feed them for pleasure and/or picture taking, you must be careful not to give them too much food so they continue to hunt and forage in their normal way. Some of the reasons it is acceptable to supplement their diet are: (1.) One mate is missing and only one adult is caring for the babies, (2.) In the very cold climates when the earth is frozen and covered with snow and ice for longer than one week, (3.) To take pictures and/or movies of these beautiful birds.

These birds can manage to feed their babies and live well on their own. It is important to point out that feeding mealworms to bluebirds is not necessary. Several short videos, all were photographed in the 2012 breeding season. These Western Bluebirds are in Fawzi’s orchard in California. John can be reached at Bluebirds at Fawzi’s orchard If the webcam is not up and running, please refresh your screen and/or try again in a few moments. The nestbox is illuminated with infrared lights to allow viewing the nest at night. This is a dual live video feed, 24/7, 365 days a year! When the Bluebirds are not active in the nesting box, we show live video of John’s bird feeders. We have a live video Bluebird website maintained by MBS member John Wachter at this link. Below are links to a few short videos with sound and a sound clip. The Maryland Bluebird Society (MBS) assists in monitoring and increasing the population of the Eastern Bluebird and other cavity nesting birds by educating and informing our members and the public about Bluebirds.

Download feeding bluebirds mealworms