The Pennsylvania Game Commission hopes to preserve the state bluebird population by making and selling bluebird nesting boxes this spring.

The boxes, which come pre-assembled or in do-it-yourself kits, cost $10.60 each, with a special price of two for $18, said Annetta Ayers, forest nursery manager of the Howard Nursery in Centre County.

Bluebird boxes can be bought at the game commission’s Northwest Regional Office in Franklin, or by phone via the commission’s headquarters in Harrisburg at 1-888-888-3459. Orders also can also be placed online via the Game Commission’s website. Most orders arrive next-day.

Ayers said bluebird boxes are important to bluebird conservation efforts.

“[Bluebirds] were in serious decline,” Ayers said. “They’re great insectivores; they kill a lot of insects. It’s one of those Cadillac species, where it’s attractive and was being outcompeted.”

Bluebirds, which are native to Pennsylvania, were disappearing from the state because of a lack of nesting places, Ayers said. Non-native species such as house sparrows and starlings build their nests in locations favored by bluebirds, making it difficult for the native species to roost.

The nesting boxes are designed to keep starlings out of bluebird houses by making the opening too small for starlings to enter, according to a game commission news release.

House sparrows can still access the boxes, so the game commission recommends removing any house sparrow nests built in a bluebird box to reduce competition. These large nests are identifiable by the use of grass, feathers and man-made materials.

Ayers said bluebirds thrive in open, grassy areas with access to insects and grain.