I have received dozens of emails and phone calls in the last week due to the LA Times article. Many people have questions about bluebirds in Southern CA and how to obtain a nestbox. This blog is not the forum for answering all the questions, but I can give a few pointers to guide you.

One of the most common questions we get asked is, "Are there bluebirds in my home city of <your city name>?"  The short answer is - yes. We are quite certain you can attract bluebirds in nearly every geographic region in Southern CA. The only way to do this is to hang nestboxes and monitor them regularly.

Membership in our club is free. We do not charge dues. We highly recommend you get on our email list.

If you need nestboxes or Purvis lifters, we have many club members who build them. You can pick them up at our monthly meetings, or we will ship them to you as long as you pay the shipping fee. We provide the nestboxes and lifters at no cost, but we do ask you to support the club with a donation. (We suggest $15 per nestbox, and $20 per lifter.)

Be sure to visit our web site. In particular, read our FAQ page.

You should also visit the Sialis web site. This site has an incredible amount of information on bluebirds. In Southern CA, we have the Western Bluebird, but 98% of the information provided here about Eastern Bluebirds applies to us. The one big difference is that we hang our nestboxes in trees rather than mounting them on posts.

The 2008 nesting season is nearly complete. Bluebirds nest in our area from late February to late July. Each pair usually raises two sets of young each season. So, there is very little chance you can attract a nesting pair of bluebirds this late in the season. This means you have time to prepare for next season. We highly encourage you get boxes in the field as soon as possible and leave them up year round.

Finally, I am working on the web site. It needs updating. We are assembling some great documentation and nestbox plans.

We would be honored to have you join our group.

MGS