Click the above image to read an informative article about the Nockamixon Bluebird Trail written by Joanie Shultz for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s newsletter.
Necessary Skills
Volunteers must have willingness to learn about nesting habits of our cavity nesting birds, focusing on observing the birds’ behavior around the boxes, noting nest construction, egg-laying, and fledging stages, while minimizing disturbance to the birds. Monitors also will clean boxes between nestings, removing used nests, unhatched eggs and occasional dead birds. Monitors must have their own transportation and have the ability to walk to boxes on uneven terrain within the park. Monitors must have the ability to read, count, extrapolate, and write results on provided forms. Monitors may also repair and replace boxes if able. Box building is always welcome.
Availability and Time Committment
As a cavity nesting bird monitor, you will be assigned a section of the trail within Nockamixon State Park. Monitors work independently to check boxes, record findings, and clean out boxes. Monitors must be willing to remove dirty nests, unhatched eggs, dead birds and debris. Monitoring a trail section involves a 1-2 hour commitment per week depending on the number of boxes in the assigned section. Volunteers must commit to monitoring every week, once per week between April 1 and August 31. Paper forms are provided to record finding. Completed form must be legible, as they will be given to co-ordinator at season end for compilation of results.
“How readily the bluebirds become our friends and neighbors when we offer them suitable nesting retreats!” ~ John Burroughs
Resources:
https://extension.psu.edu/managing-habitat-for-eastern-bluebirds https://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/
https://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/PDF/NABSFactsheetMonitoring.pdf
https://abcbirds.org/bird/eastern-bluebird