All nest monitoring is conducted in accordance with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Nestwatch Nest Monitoring Manual. All monitoring data is entered into the Nestwatch database, and an end-of-year summary is submitted to the New York State Bluebird Society. If you’d like to follow along with our Bluebird Trail Map, please open https://landisarboretum.org/assets/images/Landis-Bluebird-Trail.jpeg
Routine nest box monitoring began on March 12 and ended August 23. As expected, the three species of birds using our boxes were Eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, and house wrens. A few early birds showed interest in the boxes in March and April, but it wasn’t until May and June that they really got busy. New nesting activity declined sharply during the second half of July and the final batch of fledglings left the boxes in late August. Overall, it was a great year for nesting success on the trail. Summary statistics are available on the blog page.
Off-season maintenance has already started. Most nest boxes have been thoroughly cleaned. Between now and springtime there are some boxes that require repairs, and there is brush to cut, but much less than last year. Undoubtedly, some posts will require straightening in springtime after the ground thaws.
Boxes that did not host nests this year will get an off-season evaluation to see if modifications might improve their bird appeal. A box might not be used for several reasons, including highly territorial birds nesting nearby, mouse or wasp nests, or an issue with the box, e.g., location, condition, design, compass facing. Also, boxes that hosted lots of wrens may be moved during the off season to be further away from the tree line or brushy areas to try to favor more bluebirds and swallows.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Setting Up a Bluebird Nest Box class and Bluebird Trail Walk field trip will likely be repeated as they were both well attended this year. If there are other classes or field trips you’d like to see, please email us your ideas. Also, we hope to repeat the Bluebird Lottery. Information about this year’s lottery is available on the blog page.
For more birding news, click here to access the Bluebird News and Muse Blog!
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