The sight of Eastern bluebirds rates high on my happiness scale, so I say bring them on. But what makes a place look like inviting habitat to these charismatic birds, encouraging them to maybe stick around during breeding season? And if your site meets with their approval, and a pair perhaps shacks up in a nest box you provided, how can you then be a good bluebird landlord? 

Those and other bluebird-centric questions are today’s topic with expert birder Julie Zickefoose, a writer, artist, naturalist and wildlife rehabilitator who lives on an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio. She’s a contributor to BWD Magazine, formerly Bird Watcher’s Digest, and is also the author and illustrator of multiple books, including “Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard Luck Jay,” “Baby Birds: an Artist looks Into the Nest,” and “The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds.”

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