Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

Here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa, a Valparaiso, IN B&B, you will experience the thrill of viewing baby bluebirds in their nesting boxes. The eastern bluebird is our most famous thrush, even more popular than it’s cousin the American robin. It’s beauty, it’s song and it’s willingness to live close to us has inspired many poets, songwriters, artists, and bird watchers. Bluebirds, according the Audubon Society, will be attracted to your property if you have a large open lawn, especially if you provide housing. Thanks to a concerted effort by bluebird lovers, as we are, the boxes are built  and posted and therefore, the eastern bluebird has rebounded from it’s low population in the 1960s. The sky-blue and rusty breast of the make bluebird are echoed in the females’ more muted tones. There are three bluebird species in North America, but only the eastern in commonly found east of the Mississippi. We see the bluebird here at our Valparaiso B&B all year long.
Bluebirds are often seen perched along fence posts here in Northwest Indiana. They also can be found on wires or high in trees. They may appear all dark in bright sunlight, so many observers miss seeing them. During spring courtship, paired bluebirds can be seen fluttering their wings near a prospective nesting site in the front of the Inn. They utter a song turalee turalay saying, give me some more mealworms please. If I haven’t put them out they will flutter up and down in front of the windows so I will see them, and give them their tasty treat. The two habitat requirements of bluebirds are large, open grassy areas for foraging and cavities for roosting and nesting. In harsh winter weather, bluebirds may migrate short distances to find food or shelter. The bluebirds eat insects and fruits and berries when insects are scarce. Bluebirds visit feeders for mealworms, berries and suet or suet dough.  Here at Songbird Prairie, in Northwest Indiana, we supply nesting boxes. The female bluebird builds the nest inside the cavity using bark strips, grass and hair. The female lays four to six eggs and incubates them for 12-16 days. Both parents care for the nestlings until fledging occurs after 14-18 days. www.songbirdprairie.com