Bluebirds in Missouri Bluebirds in Missouri Feeding Bluebirds Bluebirds do not eat seeds, so rarely visit ordinary bird feeders. To see bluebirds up close, attract them with special foods. Some Missourians make cakes of yellow corn meal glued together with cooled bacon drippings or similar cooking grease with bits of fruit or raisins throughout. Berries collected in summer can be dried or frozen and provided during cold weather. If the reason for feeding is to promote bluebird survival, it is better to plant dogwoods, sumacs, cedars, hawthorns or similar plants that provide natural winter foods.
Fresh water is an attractant, especially in winter.
Several days of sub-freezing cold and snow or ice cover can cause mass mortality among bluebirds. It took nearly a decade for Missouri's population to recover from the hard winters of the late 1970s. Some bluebird enthusiasts have advocated winter roost boxes to protect bluebirds on cold winter nights. Missouri Department of Conservation research has revealed that standard nest boxes provide the best shelter of any manmade structures. Of course, natural cavities provide the best protection.