Can You Have Multiple Bluebird Houses In Your Yard?

Successfully having multiple bluebird houses in your yard depends on whether your yard is large enough to support multiple pairs of bluebirds or whether a different species of bird will be using the other box. Bluebirds are very territorial. Managing multiple pairs requires a lot of space.

In this article, we’re going to help you with everything you need to know about whether your yard can support multiple bluebird nest boxes or not.

Is your yard big enough for more than one bluebird family?

The standard territory size for bluebirds is 300 feet between nest boxes (100 yards). A very easy way to think about this is that this is the same size as an American football field. To understand what that looks like in terms of acreage, a football field is about 1.32 acres.

But, when thinking about supporting multiple bluebird houses or setting up a bluebird trail, something important to note is that the standard distance recommended between nest boxes is based on studies and behavioral averages.

Every individual bird and bird pair is different. Some will be more territorial than others. Some bluebird landlords have been able to get away with a distance of 50-75 feet between nest boxes without any trouble, while others have observed fighting when nest boxes were spaced 100 yards apart.

So what does this mean for you? Based on these caveats, how do you know whether your yard is big enough to support multiple bluebird houses?

When it comes to yard size and hosting more than one active bluebird nest box, our recommendation is to stick with the recommendation of 100 yards.

If your yard is fairly large but still smaller than the recommended 100 yards, you can experiment with a second nest box. But you will need to watch closely to make sure there is no territorial fighting or unnecessary stress brought on when hosting multiple pairs of bluebirds.

If you observe fighting before one or both nest boxes become officially active, it is important to take one of them down.

Or, use a hole reducer so that it excludes the second bluebird pair and may instead attract chickadees.

If you are putting up multiple bluebird nest boxes, and your yard is on the smaller side, it is very important you watch both nest boxes and the birds that are interested in them to make sure there is no territorial issues.

It is easier to intervene and prevent more harassment or injury before the nest is active. Once the nest is active, there is not a lot you can do since interfering (moving, removing nests) with protected nesting birds isn’t legal.

Learn More About Bluebird Mating Behavior

What to do if you observe bluebirds fighting over active nest boxes?

Bluebird fights can be pretty gruesome to see. They are not usually fatal; however, fatalities can happen. Additionally, fights can lead to injury and infection which could lead to bird fatalities.

Unfortunately, if you have multiple bluebird houses set up in you yard, even if they’re the right distance apart, once the nests are active it can be difficult to stop territorial fights when they happen.

Should fighting occur while your bluebird nests are active, there are ways to try to remedy the situation without disturbing the nests – but it isn’t easy.

In this case, one of your best options is to block the line of sight between nest boxes.

To clarify, what we mean by blocking the line of sight is to put something between the nest boxes that will essentially afford more privacy between the two boxes because it somewhat blocks the view.

Research on bluebird nest box spacing found that in many cases, barriers to sight can significantly reduce territorial fights between bluebird pairs.

Of course, this is not an easy tip to follow. With nest boxes standing at a height of at least 5 feet, you need to find something tall enough to serve as a partition. And what makes it even more difficult is that birds can fly and get an even better view of the yard.

For this, you’re going to have to really get creative – and it might cost a bit of money. Patio umbrellas, vinyl partitions and larger young trees from a nursery can be an option.

Outside of that, you can try to install a wren guard after the first bluebird egg is laid, though this might not be all that effective overall.

Unfortunately, outside of blocking the view, once your nest is active, you’re going to just have to hope for the best. As soon as the broods fledge, you will need to take down one of the boxes going forward, install a hole reducer to allow a different species or move the box to a different area.

Sometimes smaller yards can have multiple active bluebird nest boxes if the line of sight is blocked…

With a lot of hesitation, we say that you can sometimes host multiple bluebird houses if the line of sight between the nest boxes is very well blocked.

For instance, if your yard is smaller than one acre (but not much smaller) and you position one nest box at the far end of the backyard and the other nest box farther out in the front yard where the house blocks the line of sight between nest boxes, you may have some success hosting more than one bluebird pair.

However, you will need to really observe both nest boxes while they are not officially active (eggs or chicks in the nest) to make sure there is no aggression between bluebird pairs.

Should any fighting occur, take one of the boxes down, or install a hole reducer so that one box supports only bluebirds and the other supports only chickadees.

You can still have multiple nest boxes in a smaller yard, but….

At this point, you may have come to the conclusion that your yard will not peacefully support more than one bluebird pair. However, that does not mean you cannot put a second nest box up.

While multiple bluebirds require a distance of approximately 100 yards between nest boxes, bluebirds usually have less aggression between other species.

So, with a second box that is installed about 50 feet from the other bluebird nest box, you could host a pair of chickadees or titmice.

Of course, as we mentioned before, every bird pair is different. Sometimes a bluebird will be aggressive toward any bird in the yard. Or the opposite could happen – another species of bird might not be thrilled to share your yard with the resident bluebirds.

The great thing when it comes to pairing chickadees with bluebirds is that a 1 1/8 inch hole reducer can prevent bluebirds from evicting the chickadees.

Something we stress about another species using your bluebird nest box – As long as it is a native cavity nesting bird, let them nest. Cavity birds face a lot of challenges, and some birds like chickadees and titmice only have on brood per season. So helping them thrive helps their species.

Learn More About Chickadees Nesting In Bluebird Nest Boxes

Learn More About How To Protect And Care For Chickadees

Ensuring peace when pairing different species with bluebirds

While bluebirds often tolerate other species, due to their size and dominant nature, they don’t always let smaller birds nest unless the nest box isn’t useable to them.

Below are some quick tips for hosting bluebirds paired with other types of cavity nesting birds.

Bluebird + Chickadee Pairing Tips

• Space nest boxes at least 50 feet apart. For smaller yards where less than 50 feet is available, position nest boxes where the line of sight between them is blocked.
• It is still helpful to block the line of sight if possible, even when more distance between boxes is available. Installing the nest box at an angle around the house or with a bush blocking the view makes things a lot easier.
• Entry holes should never face each other when hosting multiple species.
• Bluebirds have been observed harassing smaller birds in available nest boxes unless the entry hole is too small for a bluebird. Use a 1 1/8 inch hole reducer to prevent chickadee eviction.

Bluebird + Tree Swallow Pairing Tips

Tree swallows are very good at taking up nest boxes. In fact, they can quickly outcompete bluebirds for nesting spaces. However, experienced trail monitors have found that paring sets of nest boxes close together usually allows harmonic cohabitation between a pair of bluebirds and a pair of tree swallows.

• If you anticipate having both tree swallows and bluebirds, pair nest boxes 5 – 10 feet apart from each other.
• Do not have a second set of nest box pairs any closer than 100 yards from one another otherwise secondary pairs of bluebirds will fight among the other set.
• Bluebird and tree swallow pairing has been hypothesized to lead to better success because two sets of birds are defending a smaller area from competition.
• Monitor both nest boxes closely before eggs are laid and the nest becomes active. Intervene if fighting occurs between tree swallows and bluebirds only while the nests are not active.
• Removing active tree swallow or bluebird nests is illeagle.

Bluebird + House Wren Pairing Tips

House wrens compete with bluebirds for nesting spaces. House wrens have been well documented to poke holes in bluebird eggs, dispose of them and start building their own nests. Young bluebird nestlings are also at risk of house wren invasion and being thrown from the nest.

However, house wrens are native birds to the United States and are protected. As bird conservationists, we must be careful and mindful about how we handle these situations.

Check out this video about keeping the peace between bluebirds and house wrens

It begs the question, can bluebirds and house wrens actually live peacefully in the same yard?

The answer is not a simple yes or no. Certainly, a lot of peace can be achieved if you have set things up pretty good. We have a whole article dedicated to keeping the peace between bluebirds and house wrens. But we will also include the short notes of tips here when managing both.

• Try to keep the nest box a house wren is interested in as far away from the bluebird nest box as possible (at least 30-50 feet – farther is ideal). Before the nest becomes officially active, you can move the pole little by little, day by day.
• Position nest boxes to where the line of sight is blocked.
• Do not have nest box entry holes face each other.
• Have your bluebird nest box in a very open area of your yard, and have your house wren box nearer to a tree line, house, or fence (not mounted to trees, houses or fences, just near).
• Add a wren guard to your bluebird box once the first egg is laid.
• While you may not want to encourage a house wren, remember that they have a role in the ecosystem. Have a mind for conservation and be ethical and informed in all actions you take.
• Never harm a house wren.
• Never destroy an active house wren nest.

Key Takeaways:

1. A large yard is needed to host multiple bluebird houses and bluebird pairs.
2. Bluebirds are very territorial when it comes to intraspecies relations and usually need a distance of 100 yards between nest boxes.
3. Blocking the line of sight can help minimize fights between bluebird pairs.
4. Sometimes bluebird pairs will fight despite having enough distance between nest boxes.
5. You can still have multiple bluebird houses in a smaller yard, but host a different species of native cavity nester in the secondary box.