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December 22, 2011

2011 Nest Box Season

A pair of bluebirds at Paunacussing Preserve – Carole Mebus

In 2011, ten NLT preserves collected nest box data. These are nest boxes designed for small cavity nesting species like Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, Chickadees, etc. Most preserves have nest boxes, but not all have the staff or volunteers available to do regular (7 – 10 days) monitoring.

A nest full of Bluebird babies.

Lee Shull, the Preserve Manager at Reineman Preserve in Carlisle, has great Bluebird habitat along with a dedication to keep making adjustments to promote Bluebirds. Lee had 51 nestboxes; 29 of the boxes hosted Bluebirds which produced 118 fledglings! This year he also took the top honors in Tree Swallows with 104 being fledged from his boxes.

Tree Swallow babies.

Darin Groff at Binky Lee Preserve has a long record of success for Tree Swallows and Bluebirds (90 Tree Swallows and 50 Bluebird fledglings in 2011). Darin has a very dedicated volunteer, Gail Freese, that monitors and maintains the boxes.

Newly hatched Chickdees and eggs.

Mariton had 14 Chickadees fledge out. While we don’t have the best bluebird habitat, Chickadee nesting has increased in recent years. I was surprised that we fledged the most Chickadees, especially considering that two broods were lost during the wet and cold spring.

In all, 220 boxes were monitored. Fledglings produced: 248 Bluebirds, 283 Tree Swallows, 120 House Wrens and 27 Chickadees.

August 12, 2011

Mariton: Waiting to Fly

The last brood of Bluebirds are leaving the nest. Two birds have already left. The one standing on its siblings has been looking out the entrance and contemplating taking that big step. The two other birds don’t seem to be in a rush, but they will eventually succomb to the coaxing of their parents and siblings.

July 23, 2011

Mariton: Bluebird Eggs

There is one active nest in the nest boxes. Bluebirds have laid 5 eggs, and I expect them to begin hatching next week. I am pretty sure this is the same pair that raised four young earlier this spring. The active box is in the yard, so it is easy to see bluebirds when you visit Mariton. Along with the parents, some of the young from the first brood can be seen flying around the yard.

May 26, 2011

Mariton: Nest boxes

There is good news and bad news. The wet and cold weather was too much for some of the nests. A nest of baby Bluebirds died. I think it is due to exposure. There were big enough that the parents had to be constantly foraging for food. Since the adults were away from the nest a lot, the babies probably got damp and cold. I also found a nest of Chickadees that had died. In both cases, I cleaned out the box and hopefully the adults will renest in one of the boxes. It is sad, but it happens.

On the other hand, there are 15 chickadee babies in two other boxes. They look pretty healthy, and I am crossing my fingers that it stays warm, at least for a week. Here is one of the Chickadee nests.

We also have 5 eggs in a bluebird nest. This box is in the yard, so I watch the parents checking the box during the day.

May 13, 2011

Mariton: Nest Box Update

In the past week, two more pairs of Bluebirds have built nests. The eggs in the established Bluebird nest hatched this week. Now there are four little babies in the nest.

The three Chickadee nests now have 19 eggs. One of the nests has eight eggs! Here is a photo of a Chickadee nest with seven eggs.

Tree Swallows are beginning to nest in three different boxes.

May 5, 2011

Mariton: Chickdee eggs

This week there are three different Chickadee nests in Mariton’s boxes. There is a total of 12 eggs in the three nests. All of the eggs were covered by a layer of animal hair.

The Bluebird nest is doing well with 4 eggs.

March 3, 2011

Nest Box Camera

April 24, 2012: We have new tenants! Can you guess which species is building a nest? Join the conversation on our Facebook page.

About the Nest Box Camera

We built and installed this Bluebird nest box with an infrared camera in late March of 2006 at a location where Eastern Bluebirds had successfully nested in previous years.

A pair of Bluebirds began building a nest, but they abandoned it and a pair of Tree Swallows took over the nest. (One of the many challenges facing Bluebirds is competition from other species for nesting sites. This is true for both natural and artificial sites.) The Tree Swallows successfully raised four babies.

In late April of 2007, we noticed a pair of Bluebirds around the nest box. They built a nest and laid five eggs, which hatched on May 22 (see photo). Once the babies had grown up and left the nest, we cleaned out the nest box. In late June, the Bluebirds began building another nest and laying a second brood of eggs.

In the spring of 2009, Tree Swallows again claimed the box again. In April of 2010, Chickadees chose our high-tech nest box as “home sweet home.”

Installing a Bluebird Box

Natural Lands Trust has Bluebird nest boxes like this one on many of its preserves, nearly 200 boxes in total.

Erecting and maintaining nest boxes is one of the best things that you can do to help this species, which were once as common as American Robins are today. Their numbers declined dramatically in the middle of the last century with the loss of open space to development, changes in farming practices, increased reliance on pesticides, and the introduction of invasive bird species like the House Sparrow and the European Starling that compete with Bluebirds for nesting sites.

We’ve found that a simple wooden box works best. It’s important that the entrance hole on the box be 1½” in diameter. If it’s smaller than 1½” the Bluebirds can’t fit; if it’s bigger, Starlings take over the box. The inside of the box should be at least 4″ x 4″ x 8″. We’ve actually been making boxes a little deeper than that, closer to 12″ deep, to make it harder for predators to reach the nest. It’s important to rough up the interior of the box so that young chicks can climb out. You can use a chisel to gouge a “ladder” in the wood. This is especially important if Tree Swallows also use your boxes. (Simple nest box plans can be found at: www.sialis.org/plans.)

When placing your box, look for a site with short ground cover and scattered perch sites nearby.

Then comes the fun part: watching Bluebirds nest in your box! Bluebirds don’t mind minor intrusions, so if your box has a side opening, you can open it periodically to check on the nest. Monitoring lets you know how many eggs hatched and how many young actually left the box. When the young leave, you can remove the nest so that another pair can move in and start nesting. It is exciting to check on the progress in each box.

Happy Bluebirding!

Learn more…

Bluebird Nesting Boxes

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