This season brings a common question that people ask during the spring: where do bluebirds go after fledging?
Long story short, some bluebirds will remain in their home territory, while others will venture far from their home territory to find new food resources and nesting.
This could mean a bluebird could end up in a very different location!
What Is Fledging?
In order to answer the question of where bluebirds go after fledging, it is important to talk about what fledging means.
Fledging is the stage in which young birds leave their nests and are able to fly. For most species of birds it occurs around 4-6 weeks of age.
Fledging is significant to the success and survival of young birds. Once fledging begins young birds need to find food and shelter after leaving their nests, learn how to avoid becoming prey, and learn to survive by themselves in the wild.
Fledging can be a dangerous time for young birds as it can also create greater opportunity for predation when they are most vulnerable.
In addition to being dangerous fledging is an exciting time for young birds to explore their surroundings and begin to familiarize themselves with this new world around them.
For many birds this may be the first time they have traveled a relevant distance from their home territory.
Where Do Bluebirds Go After They Fledge?
Now that we know a little more about fledging, let’s take a closer look at where bluebirds go when they leave the nest.
As was mentioned previously, some of the bluebirds will stay in their home territory and others will travel quite a distance.
Finding Food
There are many considerations that could impact where a bluebird flys after it fledges or is developed enough to leave the nest.
The first factor to consider is food availability. If there is abundant food within the range of the bluebird, it is likelier to stick around.
On the other hand, if there is limited food within a bluebird’s home range, it would have to move to find enough food.
Nesting Site Availability
A very important factor in where bluebirds will establish their territories is the availability of nest sites.
If there are very few ideal nest boxes or natural cavities in a specific location, bluebirds will either be unable to nest in the area or they will carry on to another area altogether.
If you have nest boxes on your property, ensure they are appropriate size (1 1/2″ – entrance hole) and are in an ideal area (open areas with trees nearby).
Good Idea – You can also assist by putting up bluebird houses in other convenient locations such as parks or nature preserves.
Finding a Mate
In the case of an area with limited food or housing, bluebirds will depart in search of other bluebirds.
If just a few bluebirds inhabit an area, bluebirds may choose to leave since the opportunity to mate is limited.
Once a bluebird finds a location that has other bluebirds present, it will sing from a high perch or chase another bluebird through the air in an effort to find a mate.
Migration
Another reason bluebirds affect where they go after leaving the nest is due to migration.
Bluebirds typically begin migrating in late September or early October. They migrate in the fall to follow the warmth and food during the cold months in winter.
Some bluebirds can migrate a few hundred miles and others can migrate thousands of miles!
Scientists have observed that day length and temperature may help initiate their migration pattern.
For example – bluebirds migrate when the days start getting shorter in the fall and the nights are getting cooler.
Bluebirds usually find themselves wintering in corridor areas of the U.S./Mexico border where it is warm yet mild.
Once bluebirds arrive in their wintering area they spend the next couple of months eating and resting.
Bluebirds leave the wintering sites as the days get longer and the temperatures start warming in the spring to return to the nesting sites.
Returning to the Nesting Grounds
After the young bluebird has fledged and left the nest, it will not return to the nest. It will hang out in trees or bushes until both chicks find their own territories.
The first year of life is the most dangerous year of a bluebird’s life because it is learning to survive on its own in the wild.
A bluebird may never return to the nest we watched them leave. Although a bluebird may go back to the same tree and nest, it may also alter it in some way.
There are many hazards associated with returning to a nest that may challenge the bluebird’s ability to survive such as predators or even illness due to contact with sick nestlings.
What a bluebird will do is build a new nest right over the old nest! This nesting phenomenon is called “renesting.” The new nest will be smaller than the first nest, and will have fewer eggs than the first nest.
The reasons why bluebirds renest are not well known. However, it may simply be that bluebirds decide to nest in the same area simply because they view it as a good area to nest.
Final Thoughts
So, following fledging, where do bluebirds go?
If you are thinking about the fledglings in your own backyard, don’t worry! If you have a clean nesting area and provide some food, you maybe lucky, and those bluebirds will hang around.
The honest answer is: it depends. Several factors determine how much time fledged bluebirds spend near where they were raised: food availability, other bluebirds in the area, their level of risk of predation, availability of nesting sites, and their migration needs based on the region.