- Box 14 – By a cemetary. Bluebirds love cemetaries! There is plenty of mowed grassy areas and a fenceline and tombstones to perch to guard their nest and forage for insects. It is symbolic to me that the “Bluebirds Fly Over the Rainbow” and come back again bringing beauty to those who are living and have passed on. This is a historic cemetary in Woolwine. UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE POSSIBLY MOVED FOR 2010…..NOT FAR…..BLUEBIRDS LOVE CEMETARIES.
- Box 13 – In a country field. I’ve seen both grass and needle nests in this box. This box did three broods last year. One brood died from blowfly infestation. This season, all my boxes will be carefully monitored for any blowfly problems, and I’m prepared to do the switchout of nests. When the grass gets too tall here, it is mowed down by a farm tractor. Any scrub trees nearby are kept trimmed by me. The owners have been so kind to let me install and monitor this box. Thank you! UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE POSITIONED SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FOR 2010. BLUEBIRDS LIKE THIS BOX!
- Box 12 – Located on a great grassy hill overlooking the mountain located at a bed and breakfast. This box has a beautiful bluebird pine needle nest presently and awaiting egg laying. It is a lovely location for both the bluebirds and humans who can watch the birds. This box is fully shaded in the afternoon, which is extremely important. The Noel wire guard over the entry hole does not seem to phase these bluebirds from nesting in this box for the first time this season. The fun part of bluebirding is educating those who have given me permission to install a box and hopefully the guests staying here. Included in this education is to please not disturb the boxes. Too many untrained people opening the box can spook the birds. Watching and photographing the birds can give great pleasure to the guests. I plan on monitoring this box 3 times a week during this nesting season. I am hoping for great success at this location. I will be updating the owners of the property how this box is doing. UPDATE: THIS BOX DOES EXTREMELY WELL AND WILL REMAIN. ADDITIONAL NEW BOXES WILL BE INSTALLED ON THIS PROPERTY! WOO-HOO!
- Box 11 – Located on Woolwine House’s grounds. We can watch this from our kitchen window. I’ve seen bluebirds poke around in here…so far, no nesting yet. The front of the box faces pines and our back yard. It is a pretty location. UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE MOVED CLOSER TO THE HOUSE FOR CLOSE-UP WATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHY for 2010.
- Box 10 – Private Residence in town. This is an excellent location. However, there is a potential House Sparrow problem being monitored currently at this box. The resident has ceased using mixed seed in their feeders which has the millet, which House Sparrows love. The boxes located in town will be the most challenging for me to monitor for the success of protected cavity nesters, including bluebirds. I am grateful for the residents allowing me to install nestboxes! This resident is very kind and interested in my bluebird goals. It makes bluebirding fun when others are excited. Thank you! UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL REMAIN FOR 2010.
- Box 9 – Woolwine House’s grounds. This is viewable from the house. This is a side-opening box (in photo). Last year, there were Carolina Chickadees in this box. One brood was suddently taken…possibly a very large black rat snake made it past the baffle or a bird predator. I do remember many Blue Jays last year on our property. This box now has the Noel wire guard installed over the entry hole, which you cannot see in this picture. We will see how this box does this season. All the boxes on my own property do not need the “Do Not Disturb” signs on them, for obvious reasons. UPDATE: THIS BOX MIGHT BE MOVED FOR 2010.
- Box 8 – Woolwine House’s property. This old structure barn is vacant and has no feed that attracts House Sparrows. Many years ago, the history of this house was a working farm with over 720 acres. Today, we are on 46 acres as most of the land has been sold off. This marvelous structure is two stories with stalls on the bottom and storage on top. It was wired for electricity. I have seen no House Sparrows here. Last year, this box was used by Carolina Chickadees…all 8 of them fledged successfully. The chickadees were very striking and brave little chicks when I check the box, but the parents are much more stressed and worried than bluebird parents. The parents love the pines nearby to guard the nest. This is a good closeup of the box, the baffle, and the Noel wire guard. By now, hopefully, you’ve noticed the longer overhang angled roof over the front side of the boxes and the ventilation slots. The baffle is the Ron Kingston design, which seems to work best for all ground predators and snake deterrance. It wobbles and the stovepipe is 2 feet long and 8 inches wide. It has hardware cloth inside the baffle, supported by plumber’s tape and bolts. The wobble and width is to keep ground predators from getting a good grip to get past the baffle. UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE MOVED FOR 2010.
- Box 7 – This box is in town on a private residence grounds. There is a partial grass nest inside. It could be a dummy nest. I am keeping a close watch on this box for House Sparrow predation or nesting. By law, I am allowed to remove nests and eggs of House Sparrows from my boxes. Deterring them from using the box is my first defense. This residents can see this box from a bedroom. The pole is a sturdy one-inch side. It is purchased at ten feet long and cut to eight feet. It goes three feet into the ground, allowing it at five feet off the ground for monitoring. UPDATE: DUE TO TERRITORIAL WARS WITH HOUSE WRENS AND HOUSE SPARROWS, THIS BOX WILL BE MOVED ON SAME PROPERTY TO A NEW LOCATION FOR 2010.
- Box 6 – Inside a protected, monitored bog by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. In public areas, the boxes are difficult to open by hand and have the protected Virginia Bluebird Society signs posted on them. The signs are also sponsored by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). Both logos are presented on the signs. These tall grasses are kept cut except in winter (when this photo was taken). The bog boxes were installed in January 2009. If you look on my main page of my blog, there is a photo of the actual sign I post on the boxes with the text and logos. The sign has my ID as the trail owner and my contact phone number. UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE MOVED INSIDE THE SAME PARK FOR 2010.
- Box 5 – Located in same protected bog farther out from Box 6. Again, these grasses inside the fence and below the box are kept cut down in Spring, Summer, and Fall; then allowed to grow naturally during the winter season. Inside this fence is a VDGIF protected area. UPDATE: THIS BOX LOCATION WILL REMAIN FOR 2010.
- Box 4 – On Woolwine House grounds by a pond. This box did well last season for a bluebird brood, in spite of the blowflies I had to deal with. Mid-season, I had to deal with a hornets nest built under this baffle! This is why bluebirders should never put up nestboxes and NOT monitor them. Anything we can do help the bluebirds be successful is our goal. We enjoy helping the birds. Monitoring the boxes is crucial for success of bluebirds. They NEED our help! UPDATE: THIS BOX LOCATION IS POPULAR WITH THE BLUEBIRDS. IT REMAINS ONCE AGAIN FOR 2010.
- Box 3 – This box is in a delightful location by a pasture. There is no barn with feed nearby where House Sparrows could be residing. There is a creek nearby. I see kestrals and raptors and hawks and snakes and possibly raccoons being more potential predators to this box. It faces trees, not seen in the photo. Early this season, I saw wasps looking at this place to nest. I resoaped all sides of the box inside to deter wasps nesting inside. The soap is the gentle brand Ivory, not toxic to birds. I create a soapy paste with two bars of the soap with a bit of water in a plastic container and use a paintbrush to soap the boxes. I also “soap paint” the underside of the box itself and the underside of the roof for wasp deterrence. I will also have to watch for hornets attempting to build a nest inside these baffles. As a monitor who loves bluebirds, this is not hard work! UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE MOVED SLIGHTLY BUT IN SAME VICINITY FOR 2010.
- Box 2 – This box did very well last season. I used an artificial nestcup for the first brood as an experiment. The female laid 4 eggs in the nestcup. The location is by the pond. The tree branches in this picture is an optical illusion. It is actually about 15 feet away from the box. There are also pretty cattails near this box. It can be watched from our deck. The pond itself is great to watch all wildlife. UPDATE: THIS BOX REMAINS FOR 2010.
Box 1 - This box is on the other side of the electric cattle fence. The pasture is lovely, hilly, and viewable by a residence home across the field with binoculars. This photo was taken on the main road, a distance picture. I am hoping this box will do very well. The baffle needs to be reinforced. It appears to be a windy location, blowing the baffles a bit. Update May 19: Though I have been told many bluebirds have been seen in this area, they are not nesting is this box! UPDATE: THIS BOX WILL BE MOVED A FEW YARDS TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION FOR 2010...NOT TOO FAR ....IN SAME VICINITY IN A SHADIER LOCATION WITH TREE BRANCHES NOT FAR.
Two added boxes have occurred on Christine’s trail for 2009, now to 16 monitoring locations. More boxes will be added to the trail for 2010.
NOTE: I have a new Canon EOS SLR digital Rebel camera this Spring (2009). I am looking forward to getting even better quality pictures on the trail this nesting season! I thank my husband for his continued support of my bluebird efforts and for my new camera!
Happy Bluebirding! Woo-Hoo For Blue!
Best wishes,
Christine
Woolwine House Bluebird Trail
Virginia Bluebird Society County Coordinator (Patrick County)
Christine feeling accomplishment so far! Handmade boxes are modified design-NABS style rectangular boxes. The larger overhangs on the roofs are very helpful to the birds. Many thanks to her neighbor, Carl, for his help with this project!
RETURN TO THIS SITE’s HOME PAGE: http://woolwinehousebluebirdtrail.com/
