Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring

Ryan Robison, Karen Irons, Kaitlyn Whiting

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Participating Volunteers and Methodology

Volunteers: Daphne Byron, Rebecca Ellen, Diane Goebes, Leslie Hoffer, Matt Holly, Karen Irons, Pat Melville, Ryan Robinson, Samantha Scheff, Mark Wagner, and Kaitlyn Whiting

-Season Schedule: Every week, April 1- August 25, 2023

-Data Noted: species occupying the Nestbox, condition of the nest, if mother bird was on nest, censusing the number of eggs and/or offspring in the nest, age of the offspring, and whether the offsprings matured and left the nest.

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Nestbox Locations

River Farm

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Glendening Nature Preserve

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EGGS

HATCHLINGS

READY TO FLEDGE

2023 Nest Watch Quick Summary

15 Nest Sites

28 Nesting Attempts

105 Total Eggs

93 Total Young

52 Fledglings

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Key findings and Data analysis

-In 2023, all of the nest boxes were either empty or occupied by bluebirds. In 2022, there were tree swallows and Carolina wrens in several nest boxes

- There were always bluebirds at some stage of development (from eggs to almost ready to fledge) in at least some of the boxes on every visit. Even as late as 8/25/23, Box #1 at Glendening had four recently hatched bluebirds

- At Glendening- Boxes 4, A, E and G had at least one successful brood; Boxes 1, 2, and B had two successful broods

- At River Farm- Boxes 8 and F2 had at least one successful brood. Boxes 3, 4, 9, F14 had two successful broods. Boxes 10 and 13 had no nesting birds.

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CHALLENGES

-Some nest boxes in poor condition

-Very prominent ant infestation

-Wasp/blowfly infestation

-Dead hatchlings

-Hatchlings missing from record?

Future Directions

• Repair/replace nest boxes where needed, prior to 2024 season
• Allow all volunteers access to weekly updated datasheet site to know the status of the nest boxes from previous weeks
• Continue this Citizen Science Program into the future with new volunteers being recruited as needed
• Doing so is very important for increasing the chances of success for bluebirds because loss of habitat and predators and competitors including non-native species such as House Sparrow and European Starling have helped contribute to declines in bluebird populations.
• Resources: North American Bluebird Society

Acknowledgements

• Bluebird Nest Box Monitoring Team
• Liana Vitali for her guidance and assistance
• North American Bluebird Society for the information on the Volunteer Guide