Last week we all received an email from Jim about setting up
Bluebird nest boxes. If you don’t have
boxes set up, let me tell you, it’s a wonderful being a Bluebird landlord. I’m sure those of you with boxes will agree!
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| Male Bluebird |
This time of year bluebirds are starting to look the perfect
place to raise a family. It might seem
early but humans usually spend some time looking for just the right
neighborhood when we move, right? Do I
think that dog in the neighbor’s yard will bark all night? Is the grocery store close? Can this house fit all of my stuff? Bluebirds have similar questions when looking
for a good place to spend the summer and raise a family (ok, maybe not about
the dog). Male Bluebirds are looking to
set up a territory with shelter, food and water nearby. Actually, they look for several shelters in
their territory and the female picks the one she likes best. We can do our part in helping the male birds
out by putting up nest boxes and giving the females more options to chose from!
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| Bluebird nest box |
What will you find?
It’s always a “fun” experience to walk up to a nest box and
not know what you’ll find inside… a nest?... eggs?.... a Bluebird momma trying
to fly out?... spiders?
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| Rick checking a nest box |
Rick and I haven’t been Bluebird landlords for very long but
it’s a great experience. Starting out as
landlords we set up boxes and waited…. and waited…. that year we ended up
having several spiders (one being a black widow), a scorpion, and cinnamon
wasps. Plenty of opportunities to get
the @#$% scared out of you opening those nest box doors! When you put up a nest box, you can’t be
guaranteed that the birds will actually use it. The next year we changed the
nest box locations and voila! We had
birds!
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| Nest box with a Bluebird nest started |
Be wary of House
Sparrows and other predators!
Probably the most heart-wrenching experience a Bluebird
landlord can go through is a predator attack.
One of our first incidents was with a nest box that had 6 eggs. One week they were just gone. We don’t know what happened but most likely
it was a snake. Another time we
approached a box expecting to see hatchlings but inside we found a House
Sparrow had driven the female Bluebird out and had actually built its nest on
top of Bluebird eggs and a hatchling.
The hatchling was still alive. We
removed the House Sparrow nest and left hoping the momma bird would return. She did but the baby Bluebird did not
survive.
When Things Go Just Right….
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| Nest with eggs |
We’ve had several successful clutches. I say “we”… “we” didn’t do anything except
set up the nest box and monitor it. “We”
didn’t have to do any feedings or protecting the nest box during an attack but
providing a nesting site is the first step to helping the species out. On our weekly monitoring trips we could observe some pretty remarkable changes!
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| Newly hatched to a day or two old |
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| About a week old |
I’m not going to lie…
there is some satisfaction and pride when “you” raise a successful clutch!
The benefits of being a Bluebird landlord is that by just
setting up a nest box and monitoring it, you can greatly help out a species in
need. From the Bluebird Wikipedia page:
“By the
1970s, bluebird numbers had declined by estimates ranging to 70% due to
unsuccessful competition with house sparrows and starlings, both introduced
species, for nesting cavities, coupled with a
decline in habitat. However, in late 2005 Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology reported bluebird sightings across the southern U.S. as
part of its yearly Backyard
Bird Count, a strong indication of the bluebird's
return to the region. This upsurge can largely be attributed to a movement of
volunteers establishing and maintaining bluebird trails.”
It’s also just a great experience! I think it’s a wonderful way to learn more
about the species and get a glimpse into the lives of such beautiful birds!
….. and you can earn volunteer hours for TMN, too!
Want to Help
Bluebirds?
Set up nest boxes!
There are plenty of resources online and within TMN to help you get
started. But Bluebirds are looking for
nest sites so if you’re really interested, it’s best to start soon!
Here’s to a happy and successful 2015 Bluebird season!
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| Female Bluebird |
Resources
Article from Texas Parks and Wildlife: Bluebirds in Texas: https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0512.pdf
Article From Texas Parks and Wildlife: On the Bluebird
Trail: http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2008/mar/ed_2/
Wikipedia Bluebird page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebird
