AS STORE OWNERS, WE ALL TRY TO BECOME EXPERTS in many areas of bird watching. With increasing bluebird populations, we can add sales by taking advantage of this trend.

As their numbers grow, bluebirds are changing some of their habits. The most important is wintering where they usually have not.

Dave Gunter of Wild Birds Unlimited in South Bend, Ind., says that as much as 40 percent of the bluebird population does not migrate. That provides an opportunity to sell items during the winter not normally thought of, namely roost boxes, bluebird feeders and food.

Feeding Bluebirds

Bluebirds that remain in colder regions of the United States feed extensively on berries. During the rest of the year, they rely on insects as their primary food.

We can attract bluebirds to feeders by providing berries and mealworms in cold months.

Other foods available are commercial suet mixtures, as well as chopped fruit, raisins and dried currants.

One of the biggest problems in feeding bluebirds during the winter is keeping other feeder birds from raiding food meant for them. To help, we can offer a bluebird specialty feeder that eliminates the competition. These feeders allow the bluebirds to enter a chamber that restricts most other birds and saves replacing those expensive mealworms.