Please visit the Sialis.org site in this link to read the history of the bluebirds in North America.  It is truly fascinating!   After you read this, you’ll understand why bluebirders are so passionate to conserve and help these wonderful songbirds!  The Sialis.org website is the best bluebird information site.   We thank Bet Z. (the Sialis.org webmaster and bluebird expert) for her effort to keep this site ongoing and informational for both veteran and new bluebirders.   We thank you and salute you!

http://www.sialis.org/history.htm

 

 “Be like the bluebird who never is blue,
For he knows from his upbringing what singing can do.”

      ~  Cole Porter, Be Like the Bluebird, 1934  ~

Sweet Dreams, Much Grub, and Safe Landings on First Flight, Dearest Baby Blues!

This bluebird is on a mission! What a beautiful photo taken by Bill in NC of this bluebird exiting the nestbox. This is one of the Homes for Bluebirds, made in Bailey, NC. This is a wonderfully crafted box that is more narrow and taller to accommodate an artificial nestcup, making monitoring and cleaning the box easier. The metal plate over the entry hole is a reinforcement to keep any other possible predator, such as another bird or squirrel, from enlarging this 1.5 inch hole size and thus harming the eggs or chicks inside.

 

I did a switchout of nests due to blowfly larvae in this nest of 9-day old chicks. The female here returned in 5 minutes! Truly amazing.

Selectively, these Blues are using a Roanoke Times box.

Bluebirds are picky on location, but if a cavity looks good, they’ll take it! The only problem with newspaper boxes is the birds are targets for predation — humans, ground, and avian.   Being along a road is dangerous, but hopefully no cars will hit the birds as they fly out of the box.  We can hope the chicks will fledge happily!

This grass nest has 5 eggs!

The first predator I need to worry about is the English (or) otherwise known as the House Sparrow (HOSP).   Here is a drawing of the male and female HOSP.  They may look “cute”, but they are destructive and nasty birds.  They take away cavities from our protected native birds.    Source:  www. Sialis.org.    Thanks to Bet for a terrific site for our bluebirds!

These non-native invaders need to passively or aggressively be deterred from killing our native bluebirds and other native cavity nesters! As much as I love all birds, this particular species bird is overpopulated and out of control...an experiment gone terribly wrong. It's indeed unfortunate we bird lovers have to deal with this pest.

 

 

Here is a HOSP nest found in one of my boxes on March 9, 2009.  This is the first nest in all my boxes for the season.  Note the pieces of cloth used in this nest, picked off from a grave nearby in the cemetary where a craft decoration was placed.    Many times, HOSP use paper trash…really anything they can find to incorporate “stuff” into their nests.    They are aggressive killer birds that need to be controlled for the conservation of our native bluebirds and other cavity nesters.

 

This is a 5-day old HOSP nest. Part of being a monitor is learning what kind of bird is occupying bluebird boxes. If it's a HOSP, this nest should be removed. It is not a protected bird since it isn't a native bird in the USA, so it is legal as a bluebird conservation monitor for me to do this. Then I need to do whatever I can to keep this happening again. It's a challenge to all bluebirders dealing with the House Sparrow. All other sparrow species in the USA are decent, gentle birds, such as the Chipping Sparrow, for example.

History of the House Sparrow can be found here on the Sialis bluebird site.  This is very educational reading!

http://www.sialis.org/hosphistory.htm

Click below to see the succession of a bluebird baby on Sialis.org!

http://www.sialis.org/runt.htm

Also, click below for a video of bluebird action male feeding female from Sialis.org:

http://www.sialis.org/video1.htm

Below:  Bluebird Nestcam from Greenville, TX, hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website:

http://watch.birds.cornell.edu/nestcams/camera/view?cameraID=C100046

 

He waits to be given a chance in the world...hungry and waiting for his feedings.

Here is nestbox # 2 at Woolwine House’s pond.  By the way, this photo is an optical illusion!   That scrub tree in front is not as close as it seems in the photo.  You do need a tree at least 15 feet away for the fledglings to fly to.   The parents like to pick a location that’s the safest for their babies when they fly out of the box for the first time, as well as having a perching site to guard the nest.  This box did well last season.  I could watch the activities from the deck nearby.  

This is a peaceful location for the Blues.

All boxes off of the property HAVE to have this Federal Protection sign….sponsored by the Virginia Bluebird Society AND the Inland Game and Fisheries organization.  Do you see those “notches” on the inside left side?  That’s scoring on the inside of the front of the box so the fledglings can hold themselves up better before taking off into the world.  If Tree Swallows nest in this box, they are in particular need of scoring, even more than the Eastern Bluebird babies.

PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB. Only the European Starling and the English House Sparrow nests can be removed by State and Federal Laws. All other US native cavity nesters are protected. Both the Starling and House Sparrow are aggressive birds that cause attacks to our native cavity nesters in competition for these boxes. It is a constant challenge to discourage them from taking over nestboxes and killing our good native cavity birds.

ABOVE:  Please, if you are the artist or you know who drew this, please leave me a post so that I may contact them.  This is beautiful!   Thank you.

Thanks, Carl!    Here are a few pictures of the assembly line and Carl at work.

And Me….Helping Carl….Carl Helping Me!                                                                                      

If you had any idea how heavy this drill is!

 

• His soft warble, beautiful blue coat, warm waistcoat, and gentle manners make him the most welcome herald of spring.
  - Birds of America, 1917

• His soft warble melts the ear, as the snow is melting in the valleys around. The bluebird comes and with his warbles drills the ice and sets from the rivers and ponds and frozen ground.
  - Henry D. Thoreau, March 2, 1859

The Eastern Bluebird’s Warble:  Click Here and turn the volume up:    http://bluebirdia.homegrowngoodies.com/bluebird-song-audio.htm

This photo was taken on the day of the first egg laid….March 29, 2008.   This is an artificial nestcup in the box so that it can be removed for monitoring and photographs and returned to the nestbox safely.   The female lays her eggs early morning, one egg per day.   When this is seen for the first time each nesting season by a bluebird enthusiast, it’s like pure joy.  My heart was beating first with excitement seeing this egg.

 

In an artificial nestcup which enables me to take this photograph.

4 males and 2 females were courting each other...no fighting surprisingly among the males.

My registered trail consists of 14 handmade nestboxes on one-inch conduit 5.5 feet off the ground fully set up with predator guards.  The boxes re 5×5 inches with good ventilation and a long overhang angled roof.  This is a modified NABS style box.  All boxes except the 5 on my property are marked Protected By Federal Law-Do Not Disturb, sponsored by the Virginia Bluebird Society and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries – it is against the law to disturb these boxes.  Each box has the protection signs with my name, phone number, and the box number listed.

5 boxes are on my own property.

2 boxes are on my road adjacent to rolling pastures.  They are NOT too close to the feed barns where there could be the non-protected killer House Sparrows residing.   The boxes are outside where cattle roam so as to not knock down the boxes.  They are located to easy access for me to monitor the boxes, usually about twice a week during nesting season.  I have received permission for placement of all boxes off of my property.

All local in Woolwine:

1 box is at a local country inn’s field.

1 box is at another bed and breakfast in the back on lawn.

1 box is at a private residence.  

1 box is across the street at another private residence near a cemetary.

NOTE: 

Bluebirds, by the way, really love cemetaries.  They can use the tombstones to perch to look for insects on the ground.

2 boxes are in a protected box turtle bog locations at a public  park.

1 box is near the cemetary in the same public park.

4 Bluebird Eggs at The Mountain Rose Nestbox

In the old nestbox on the property when we moved here.

I did not take this photo. I give credit to the photographer.

It must have been found in the grass after fledging....I did not take this photo.

 

BE SURE TO CLICK ON “OLDER POSTS” BELOW TO SEE MORE!

A Few Other Pictures On the Trail:

...before the Noel guard was installed in early 2009.

Above:  a typical white pine needle nest.

Below:  Some Canadian Geese stopped by:

Rest stop for a few days.

For 2009, this is a fully converted nestbox from front opening to side opening so that the hardware cloth wire “Noel” guard over the entry hole can be installed.   The purpose is to to protect the incubating female, the eggs, and chicks from bird predators and from any ground predators that possibly could get by the Kingston stovepipe baffle you see here.   Not too many ground predators can get by this wobbly baffle, thankfully!

 

Guarding his goodies!

 

Trail 2008 Report:

I had Eastern Bluebird families and Carolina Chickadee families in my nestboxes.   One box was raided either by an avian predator or a Black Rat Snake that was large enough to get over my stovepipe baffle.  Two boxes were infested with blowflies.  One brood died but the other brood were saved by me by having a man-made switched out nest and the chicks got well and fledged at 18 days.   All of my boxes were paired on my property for Tree Swallows to nest as neighbors with the Eastern Bluebirds so as to warrant off unwanted territorial fighting.  No Tree Swallows nested, so I moved many of my boxes into other areas in Woolwine and left 5 on my acreage.  I am featured on the Fall 2008 Virginia Bluebird Society’s newsletter on Page 6, “Lessons from a New Bluebirder”.   Here is a cut and paste from the article from that newsletter below.  You can also go to the Virginia Bluebird Society’s website/Newsletters:   http://www.virginiabluebirds.org/

Fall 2008 VBS article:

“Lessons of a New Bluebirder”, by Christine

This is my third year of bluebirding. In my first year, 2006, my husband andI moved to our new home in Woolwine, Virginia, and found an old bluebirdnestbox in the back yard. To our surprise, there were bluebirds nestingthere upon our arrival that first week of March. But a week after we moved in, Ifound a big black rat snake hanging out of the box’s entry hole. I was horrified!

 We cleaned out the box, built a hardware cloth baffle, and placed it underneath the box. The same pair apparently came back and tried again, but the second brood died the first day after hatching, from the 100-degree heat. After that, wetook the box down, and I started my studies about bluebirds.

My second year, 2007, our new neighbors dropped off a nestbox as a gift. Carl Rupprecht, who made the box in his woodworking shop, helped me install it behind our house on a pole with a predator baffle. We were able to joyfully watch two broods make it into the world that season.

This year, my neighbor helped me build my first bluebird trail of 14 boxes.  I experimented by doubling up the boxes 15 feet apart, because we had seen Tree Swallows diving out of the trees and into our pond the year before. Some of theboxes on the trail were not occupied, but the ones that attracted Carolina Chickadees and Eastern Bluebirds. The first broods did well and fledged. I had no snake predation and no House Sparrows. The second nesting proved problematic. I noticed that one of my boxes seemed to be in trouble. I photographed the parents from afar in the field one morning and was wondering why the male came with food only four times within two hours. When I checked the box the next day, I found the chicks had died, all four of them. I immediately removed them and the nest and took them back home to investigate what happened.   Blowflies! I was stunned. As I thought about it, we had three days of over 90-degree heat the week before. There was a lot of dust at the bottom of the box underneath the pine needle nest, and I saw the larvae in it as well. I found one live and one dead adult blowfly in the center of the nest buried in there, and more larvae. When I looked at the dead chicks on the underside, I didn’t see larvae attached to them. I then realized that I was not checking closely enough for any indication blowflies even existed – my first experience with this problem.  I did look for insects and didn’t see any. The nest appeared clean, and I watched the parents bring food. Now I realize the blowfly larvae were hidden inside the nest underneath the babies, and I had missed them completely. I felt sad that the second brood died, but I also was on alert for blowflies on the trail. Sure enough, I found another nestbox with blowflies. The chicks looked anemic and weak at five days, and they had feathers only in stripes on their backs. This time I had to intervene! I quickly switched the contaminated pine needle nest with a homemade pine needle nest.  I put the needles in, tamped it down with my fist, and added some grasses for softness. I carefully picked up the sick five-day-old chicks and placed them in the new nest while my husband stood by with an umbrella to shade us from the sun. Both parents were watching me in the trees and came back to the box a few minutes later. I left the nest alone for a few days. When I checked on Day 8, I was truly amazed!  The chicks were larger, growing feathers again, and looking bluer and healthier. They fledged at exactly 18 days.

 

I’ve learned as a new monitor that there will be losses. However, with love and devotion and learning about these marvelous birds each year, the celebrations outweigh the losses, and monitoring is worth every minute of my time. I have a feeling of accomplishment helping the beloved bluebirds!

– Christine Boran, Blue Ridge Highlands, Woolwine, Patrick County Coordinator, Virginia Bluebird Society

BELOW:  12-Day Old Healthy Chicks photo below….they should fledge between 15-18 days.  These were in the Mountain Rose Inn’s nestbox in 2008.  Many thanks to Mike and Dora Jane for their continued support!

They should fledge between 15 and 18 days.

Blue Ridge Highlands, Woolwine, Patrick County Coordinator, Virginia Bluebird Society

Here is the Mountain Rose Inn’s website and their birding page where my photos are posted.

http://www.mountainrose-inn.com/BirdingattheMountainRose.htm

Ahh, those Bluebirds — a BIG DISTRACTION…loving every minute of them. To me, the first sign of Spring is when I see the males around February 1st, and then those pretty daffodils!

Welcome back, Blues. “Mr. Bluebird on my Shoulder!”

Please read on below for the Bluebird Trail Update!

My new Bluebird Trail is installed!

Woo-Hoo for Blue! Excitement Exists Waiting For These Beautiful Feathered Friends.

Thanks to neighbor, Carl, for helping build and install the nestboxes. The boxes are doubled-up in pairs to keep Tree Swallows in our area and the Eastern Bluebirds from fighting and to live peacefully as neighbors. I hope you enjoy some pictures of the building and installation. Now we wait….the males will find and court their new mates and show her where he thinks a good nest location can take place. She will “approve” and then start the nest building — takes about a week. I am a member of the North American Bluebird Society and the Virginia Bluebird Society — a new volunteer as a County Coordinator! I’ve seen “courtship” activity on three nestboxes so far! How exciting! I hope you enjoy the Wendell Long photos here as well as artist Susan Bourdet!

Please click on the thumbnails below to view larger picture and captions. Total 14 Nextboxes Installed! These boxes will be monitored weekly and the statistics reported to the Virginia Bluebird Society and North American Bluebird Society. The goal: As many healthy hatchlings and fledglings, bringing more beautiful Bluebirds to Southwest Virginia — Patrick County.

 

 

Please check back soon for the Trail Update!

 

 

 

The other day, I watched several male Bluebirds having a “discussion” with some Purple Finches who will get the one available nestbox I have to roost for the winter. This is a reminder of how quickly Spring and Summer has flown by and now our gorgeous Autumn has come once again. I believe our fall foliage peak will be arriving in the next few days. Soon, we will be closing out 2007. I am presently in the works of installing a Bluebird Trail on my property so that I may monitor the Blues and many other cavity nester as new residents starting around February 2008. This will be when the hunt is on where to build nests. This monitoring and the stats accompanying my visits will be collected on spreadsheet format and sent to the Virginia Bluebird Society (VBS) and the North American Bluebird Society (NABS). I look forward to my new hobby of monitoring a Bluebird Trail — my very own right here next to my home office! I will start small — about 10 nestboxes. They will be built, numbered, and installed with predator guards between now and February 1, 2008.

 

To me, living in the Blue Ridge Highlands of Southwest Virginia brings me solitude and an appreciation for the wildlife here. Bluebirds are plentiful (lucky me), and I’ve enjoyed my new hobby of monitoring Bluebirds and the joy they bring to an afternoon office break. I witnessed my first ever nest building, laying of eggs, incubation, and hatching, and watching those nestlings grow and be fed by their parents from a mealworm feeder in our back yard. The diligence I witnessed of both parents of these 5 nestlings has taught me what hard work is all about! I have witnessed the excitement of watching the nestlings gear up to fledging and moving on to fly to the Poplar tree above with Mom and Pop Blue attending to their safety and to their survival out of the nestbox. This office I work in at home reminds me of a nestbox….as I learn and grow from the Internet as the world comes to me and feeds me as I develop. In February, I moved my office to an upstairs room in the house, purchased new office furniture, and created an ambience conducive to deep concentration. Now that the nestbox of my first Bluebirds has been cleaned out, a new nest has been built and the female is incubating again. Life goes on, and with pure determination, the Bluebirds live and bring a pleasantry to our home and to Virginia. My business is very much like watching the Bluebirds.