WOOLWINE HOUSE BLUEBIRD TRAIL

Recently, I spent a beautiful morning observing and photographing a pair of bluebirds on my trail.  One of the nests had been infested with blowflies, and I had just conducted a switchout to a clean nest. After making certain that the chicks were safe and comfortable, I ran back behind the pine trees to my stool and camera on the tripod. After a switchout, I like to stay back and observe from a distance, to make sure that my intervention didn’t disturb the parents’ continued care of their chicks. Moreover, it was a perfect day for photography, and I was prepared and hoping for something special. 

Bluebird Nestbox Design

I am a County Coordinator for the VBS.  Here are suggestions from the VBS taken from their website.  I use these guards and want to emphasize their importance using on nestboxes for the chicks’ safety.

VBS:  “We have evolved a bluebird nestbox over the past few years which is working well on our trails.  The bluebirds seem to like the design, and it is easy to monitor and clean out.”

Download nest box design

Download a diagram showing the recommended box mounting method

Predator Guard Designs:

VBS:  “We utilize two types of predator guards to help limit predation of our bluebird nestboxes. One we call the Cat/Raccoon Guard is made of a heavy wire mesh (hardware cloth) and goes on the front of the nest box to help fend off raccoons, cats, opossums, large birds, etc.  This works by backing the critters off so it is too far of a reach into the box to get the eggs or babies. The pattern for the Raccoon Guard now posted on this site is slightly different from our original version. We have changed it to make it easier to cut out and lace together. The other guard, Snake Guard, is made of round metal ducting material and is installed on the mounting pole for the nest box. This guard is primarily to inhibit access by snakes which just love to dine on little birds and eggs. This guard can also fend off climbing cats, squirrels, raccoons, etc.  (It also provides a bit of a challenge for squirrels when used on pole-mounted bird feeders.)”

Download diagram showing correct predator guard mounting

Photo below from the VBS:   ”Don’t let this happen to your bluebird nestbox!  Mount your nestbox on a metal pole, use a Snake Guard, and position your nest box away from nearby and overhanging branches.”

I saw this on my first year of seeing bluebirds at Woolwine House. The box was on a 4x4 wood post--any snake or other ground predator (including raccoons, mice, feral cats, and ants) can get to the bluebird chicks. This rat snake is more than likely leaving the box after his rest from his meal of some young cavity nesting chicks, possibly bluebirds or another cavity nesting brood. Please note that the hardware cloth Noel Guard is not installed on this box. Christine on 09-20-09.

 The Black Rat Snake you see here is a “good” snake.  We need snakes and they need to survive, too.   They have unbelievable climbing ability using their scales and are fascinating in nature.  They have plenty of food sources on the ground and otherwise.  We bluebird monitors prefer they NOT eat from our installed cavity nestboxes, understandably.  Our goal is to have successful bluebird fledgings and to help the bluebirds continue to thrive and increase their survival rate in the past decade from the use of man-made installed nestboxes.   Once chicks fledge, they still may not survive due to predators.   More on that topic of the survival of fledgings  in an upcoming post!  

Notes by Christine (09-20-09):  Please feel free to contact me if you have questions on these nestbox designs and the use of predator guards.   I would like to help.  Do you want to install a box or a trail in Patrick County, VA?  Let me know!  Just leave a voice message at 703-919-4302 with your name and contact phone number and a convenient time to call.  I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.   I would be happy to speak to you and to help you install a box or nestbox trail in Patrick County, VA.  If you live elsewhere and need some guidance where to start, let me know that, too.  I can guide you in the right direction. Thank you for your interest and support in helping our beautiful Eastern Bluebird.  See the Virginia Bluebird Society’s website for more information on optaining a grant for your organizationfor new and refurbished bluebird trails and for youth and scout organizations (see this link to the VBS page):   http://www.virginiabluebirds.org/grantprograms.html

I am attending the November 7th, 2009, VBS State Conference in Bedford, VA.   I look forward to meeting my fellow Virginia bluebirding colleagues at the conference and learning more how I can better serve our native birds.  

Here is a photo of Mr. Blue with some good grub.  When the photo as taken, it was one week after I did a nest switchout from an infested nest with blowflies to a clean replacement nest I kept from a previous bluebird fledging–around Day 14 in age.   Look into the entry hole closely.  You’ll see a bright white dot.  That’s a chick inside–the reflection off one of his eyes!   I would like to note that there are only TWO boxes on my whole trail that do not have the Noel wire predator guard in front of the entry hole.  This is an experiment to see how these two boxes do without them.   I like the design better with the box opening in front…you’ll see the amount of ventilation these boxes have at the top of the box by the roof.   This is my favorite box design…larger roof and roof overhang, good ventilation, and they stay dry inside during torrential rains.  The other boxes are side opening boxes because of the Noel guards are installed over the entry holes.  The birds don’t seem to mind the guards, but these boxes seem to be better for photography.    All of this effort is worth it.  

Look inside....there's a chick's eye reflection! The 4 chicks actually fledged completely on the 18th day, which is about right for chicks that are underdeveloped in feathers and weak from anemia. Once the chicks have a chance to develop normally with good nutrition from Mom and Dad, they're ready to see the world!

 “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  ~

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.

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!

NOTES ON GRASS NOTES (see photos below):   Here are two samples of different grasses used by bluebirds.  They find what’s available in local habitat.  Usually, in my area, I’ve seen pine needes, mostly white pine.  Farther out in rural areas, I see more field grasses.   The first photo below are smaller grasses used by the bluebirds.   There are 5 eggs inside!   Photo was taken on May 9, 2009.  The second photo below was taken in 2008, a different box location on the trail.  Field grasses were used.  They are longer and they built the nest higher.

This grass nest was built for a third brood in this box in 2008! These grasses are longer and thicker, obtained from a local hay field. These bluebirds built this nest much higher than usual. Photo taken July 1, 2008.

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.

• 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.

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!

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.