Valley woman sets the table for visiting bluebirds

On a shelf in Jerri Swenson's refrigerator, 10,000 mealworms writhe around in a roasting pan. They are destined for the mouth of Swenson's "little man."

That little man is a 7-inch-long mountain bluebird that is raising chicks in a bluebird box outside Swenson's home north of Kalispell. The bluebird has returned to Swenson's property for the last four years to mate and raise its young.

Swenson says she's certain it's the same bird because it will swoop down and eat mealworms out of her hand. The bird arrived from its southern wintering grounds on March 13 this year.

"How was Mexico, little man?" she said she asked him on his arrival. A female followed on March 24 and the pair chose a nest box in April.

The bird first nested in a bluebird box on her property four years ago. The next year, when he returned, she set out a container of mealworms in the field for him. She slowly moved the container closer to her house, eventually placing the feeder by her window. When she went outside to fill up the feeder, the bird hovered around her. Soon after, the bird landed on the ground next to her and ate from a nearby cupful of mealworms. She said it wasn't long before the male bird landed on her hand to eat.

"We have a relationship, he and I," she said.

When Swenson arrives home in the evenings after work, the bluebird flies alongside her truck down the gravel lane to her house and awaits her evening offering of mealworms.

"He's a real good daddy," Swenson said of the bluebird as he carried a mouthful of worms to his chicks. Several of the chicks moved out of the nest box Wednesday and were perched in a nearby tree. She offers food to the birds three to six times each day.

The bluebird's mate this year is wary of Swenson and won't venture close. Previous year's female and young were more bold and joined the male in feeding from her hand.

"It's a treat," the Montana native said.

Hand-feeding birds is frowned upon by some bird advocates, however. Janet Ellis, director of Montana Audubon, said that acclimating the birds to humans can put them at greater risk from predators such as aggressive cats and dogs.

Swenson acknowledges the criticism, but points out that the male bird has returned for four years and has raised 18 chicks, with more on the way. Swenson's attachment to the bluebird has made it hard for her to watch some of the harsh realities of the natural world, however. This year, a "hostile takeover" by swallows forced the male and female bluebird from their box of nestlings. She thinks some of the young were killed by the swallows and others were "buried" when the pair made a new nest atop the old one. The pair are now raising a second batch of young.

She has a total of 10 bluebird boxes on her open, grassy property. Western bluebirds have set up house in one of the boxes and swallows have claimed some of the others. Historically, bluebirds used holes in decaying trees and old fence posts for their nest sites. As land has been cleared and trees cut down, the supply of natural nesting sites for bluebirds and other native cavity nesters has been greatly reduced. Man-made nest boxes have helped to replace the loss of natural nesting sites.

And the bird's natural diet of insects is being heavily supplemented by Swenson's mealworms. She says the male bluebird and his young will eat 25,000 to 30,000 mealworms this summer. That's several overnight deliveries of 10,000 mealworms, shipped from California to her door. She keeps them in a mound of dry oatmeal in her refrigerator, taking the worms out each Saturday night, to feed them carrots and let them warm up. This routine prolongs the life of the mealworms.

She's spent about $400 on the male bluebird since she started feeding him four years ago.

"It's worth every cent I've spent on this man," she said. "He's brought me so much joy."