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MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD PRINT SELECTED FOR 2002 NEBRASKA HABITAT STAMP The opening lines of Doug Carroll's article in the April 2002 issue of NEBRASKAland are very familiar to anyone involved in the bluebird recovery effort: "As our country's population has grown, the amount and quality of wildlife habitat has declined. The reasons have been many - urban encroachment, more roads, intensified farming practices - but the effects are clear. As habitat decreases, so do wildlife populations and the opportunities for people to enjoy them." Fortunately, in addition to the bluebird trails that are reestablishing habitat for the bluebird, there are a variety of efforts underway to combat the loss of habitat suffered by wildlife. The need for quality habitat was always been recognized by the Game & Parks Commission, but it wasn't until the late ‘60s, when thousands of acres were returned to crop production as federal Soil Bank programs ended, that the impact of habitat loss was fully understood. Wildlife habitat started disappearing at an alarming rate and with it, so did wildlife. To address the problem, the Nebraska Wildlife Habitat Conference was held in Lincoln in 1975 where one speaker quoted Seth Gordon, an early leader in wildlife conservation, who in 1929 said: ". . .Either we put more business into conservation, or conservation will be swallowed up by business. . ." One of the proposals that came out of that conference was the initiation of a wildlife habitat stamp that all hunters and trappers would be required to purchase annually and affix to their hunting permits. The stamp revenues would serve as the principal funding source for habitat restoration and management. The first habitat stamp was issued in 1977 and in 2001 the Nebraska Habitat Program celebrated 25 years of success. "Nest Box Bluebirds" by Alliance Artist and BAN lifetime member Rodney Johns has been selected by the Nebraska State Game and Parks Commission as the 2002 Nebraska Habitat Stamp. You must see this print to appreciate the rich colors and artistry that went into the painting. Many people attending the conference in Nebraska City were fortunate to be able to meet the artist and see the print for themselves, but for those of you who missed that opportunity, Rodney's prints can be purchased directly from him. Contact: Rodney Johns, 522 Big Horn, Alliance, NE 69301; phone: 308.762.5884. This year in particular, BAN members and bluebirders in general, may wish to make a habitat donation. Hunters and trappers are required to purchase habitat stamps but anyone interested in wildlife may purchase a stamp. Because three federal aid dollars are often matched for each state habitat dollar, the purchase of a $13 habitat stamp could result in $52 for habitat improvement or purchase. Habitat stamps are available from Commission offices and many vendors across the state. Direct donations may be made to the Habitat Fund, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, c/o Wildlife Division, 2200 N. 33rd Street, Lincoln, NE 68503.
It is spring again and that means baby Bluebirds. Now that sounds like a good thing; but baby Bluebirds bring with the joys many concerns. You worry about the first nesting -- did they start too soon, will the weather be warm enough, will there be enough bugs, and what about the sparrows? These are just a few of the worries those of us that chose to help the Bluebirds must put up with. Finding time to monitor your trail is quite often no easy task. Being willing to brave the wind, rain, heat, mud, ticks, wasps, spiders just to mention a few can be a challenge. The second nesting brings heat, will the babies get too hot, wrens -- will they find this nest, and so on through the summer. The troubles we face monitoring a Bluebird trail can be compared to the problems parents face raising children. Something in us makes us get involved even though we know the difficulties we will face. The worrying we do is only because we care, because we want the Bluebirds to be successful. We need to remember that no matter how much we do we can not protect the Bluebirds from all of the hardships they will face. We can only do so much. We should also remember to enjoy the experience of helping the Bluebirds raise a family and not spend all of our time worrying. Monitoring a Bluebird trial has some similarities to parenting but think where we would be if either the parents or us decided not to continue. Thanks for monitoring your trails! - Bill Seibert
Entrance Hole Comparison - A Three-Year Study - For eleven years our Bluebird trail has had over 500 nest boxes in approximately 250 locations in Rice County, Minnesota. (Most nest boxes are paired with a ten-foot spacing.) Due to high House Sparrow concentrations, and many, many raccoons, we use a lot of Gilbertson House Sparrow resistant PVC nest boxes mounted on Steve s 1/2-inch conduit and rebar pole assembly. We also have a lot of Peterson nest boxes, all with the standard oval entrance hole 2 1/4 inches by 1 3/8 inches. Anytime a new nest box design comes along, we usually install a few to do a comparison with the ones we are currently using. We ve tried twenty different nest box designs. In 1999 we decided to study the Eastern Bluebird entrance hole preference between the Peterson nest box oval hole and the Steve Gilbertson Gilwood entrance hole. We took eleven established Bluebird nesting sights (in place for a least five years) where Peterson nest boxes were paired ten feet apart, we removed one Peterson and installed a Gilwood nest box only three feet from the remaining Peterson. We made certain the Gilwood entrance hole was the same height and same direction as the Peterson entrance hole. Our comparison is based on only the first nesting each year. This allowed the Bluebirds to choose the box they preferred, because both nest boxes in each location were not occupied when they arrived after migration (we have a lot of Tree Swallows nesting in our boxes - but it is two to three weeks later than the Bluebirds first nesting). The first year we thought the Peterson nest boxes might have an advantage, because they were well weathered and the Gilwood boxes were not. In 1999 the eleven locations attracted nine nesting pairs of Bluebirds - seven nested in the Gilwoods and two nested in the Petersons. Two locations were discontinued after the first year because farm equipment had hit the nest boxes. In 2000-2001 the results were identical - nine locations attracted five nesting pairs of Bluebirds — they all nested in the Gilwoods. In our three year study we had nineteen Bluebird nestings - seventeen in the Gilwoods and two in the Petersons. We also had many Tree Swallow nestings a bit later in the adjacent nest box, even with the three-foot spacing. The Gilwood nest box had no ventilation holes, so we had an interest in possible summer heat problems in the second Bluebird nestings. The summer temperatures of 1999 were not that warm. In 2000 we had two days of 100 degree Fahrenheit with dew points of 70 degrees and no wind. We had baby Bluebirds in two Gilwoods, one nest under five days old and one nest over ten days old. We checked these two clutches the first 100 degree-day in mid-afternoon, both looked good and did not appear to be heat stressed and both eventually fledged. The summer of 2001 is the worst we can remember. We had many days of 90 degrees and dew points in the mid and upper 70 s. The clutches of Bluebirds in the Gilwoods in the second nesting all fledged without any problems. In conclusion the Bluebirds really like the Gilwood nest boxes and so did we. They were easy to build and with 1/2-inch conduit and rebar pole assembly, they were easy to install. You may want to try them on your Bluebird trail. (* Nest boxes were checked once a week by Keith Radel, Jim Newport, John Stern, Rose Holz and David Holz).
Five Steps to a Bluebird-Friendly Yard 1. Put up snags. An open, featureless lawn has lots of good foraging for bluebirds in the form of cutworms, caterpillars, spiders, and beetle larvae, but they may not be able to find them. Bluebirds are hunters; they sit on a perch, scan the ground, and drop to capture their prey. To do this they need lots of perches. Garden posts, powerlines, and clothesline poles help, but you can greatly increase the attractiveness of your yard by supplying other perches. Nicely sculpted fallen trees and branches litter any forest floor and can be had for free, or if you're into Bauhaus, you can nail up a T-stand that will be just as gladly accepted. Scatter these across your lawn or meadow, and you've created foraging perches that will enable bluebirds to use your backyard habitat to its fullest extent. 2. Add water. Like all thrushes, bluebirds love to bathe, and they'll make a daily habit of it if your birdbath is kept clean and filled. Make sure it's shallow--no more than two inches deep--and out in the open, away from shrubbery that could conceal lurking cats. A perch placed nearby, but not hanging over, the bath will make it more attractive to bluebirds. 3. Plant for fruit. In the fall, bluebirds shift their diet largely to fruit. A few of their favorites are dogwood, viburnums, American bittersweet, American honeysuckle, and the humble pokeweed. Stick to native plants that are hardy for your region; for a complete listing, see Enjoying Bluebirds More, BWD Press. 4. Keep it mowed. Bluebirds find their best foraging in shorter grasses. If your boxes are in meadows that grow more than calf high during the summer, bluebirds might nest there early in the season, then desert them for shorter-grass areas where they can more easily find food. We mow large patches in the meadow near our bluebird boxes (see "The Better Bluebird Box" for bluebird-box plans and information). We put up snags or T-stands and are gratified to see the bluebirds using these areas within minutes. 5. Offer extra protein. Bluebirds love mealworms and quickly learn to come to your call when you offer them. More than just tasty treats, mealworms can help bluebirds and their broods through periods of prolonged rain, cold, or drought when insects are hard to find. For such emergency intervention, place a handful of mealworms in a shallow dish atop or just beside the box. It won't take the adults long to find them and connect the offering with your presence. For better prices than you'll find at the pet shop or bait store, try Nature's Way, 800-318-2611, P.O. Box 188, Ross, Ohio 45061; or Grubco, 800-222-3563, Box 15001, Hamilton, Ohio 45015.
(BWD Press, PO Box 110 Marietta, OH 45750,
The Red-Tailed Hawk vs Bluebird Nestboxes (Reprinted from The Nestbox, The Newsletter of the Southern Interior Bluebird Trail Society, Spring 2002) Harry monitors 144 nestboxes in 2 areas north of Lillooet - 87 nestboxes in the Jesmond area (this encompasses Big Bar, OK & Alchorne Ranches) and 57 boxes on the Diamond S Ranch. It was on the Diamond S where the problem began early in the nesting season.... Harry called me to report that workers at the ranch told him about a red-tailed hawk attacking the boxes and ripping the doors off! Sure enough, when Harry went to check the bluebird trail there was the hawk. He would swoop down, balance his weight, catch his talons on the top of the slot opening and then yank back ripping the front from the catch pins and feast on the nestlings. This trail was one of the original ones put into the Chilcotin/ Cariboo area so the boxes are older but had seemed sturdy enough after all the weathering. The plywood doors split at the top pins when the hawk gave that jerk and pulled back. In all, that red-tailed hawk pulled the doors off 20 nestboxes!! 17 boxes were repairable by simply putting on new doors but 3 were totally destroyed. Harry has no estimate of the numbers of lost nestlings but for the hawk to hit so many boxes, the meals must have been satisfying.
Program Teaches Value of Saving Dead, Dying Trees The Animal Inn Environmental Education Program is designed to inform children, adults, land managers and woodcutters about the importance of dead and dying trees in forests, parks and backyards. It is a program of the U. S. Forest Service. Over 1,200 wildlife species in the United States rely on dead, dying, or hollow trees for dens, nests, roosts, feeding platforms, or breeding displays. Fish and amphibians also benefit from trees that have fallen into streams. All of these categories of trees are referred to as Animal Inns, primarily for educating land managers and the general public about the value this habitat provides to wildlife and forest health. Many dead or dying trees are cut down and removed because of their value as firewood or because they are viewed as a safety hazard. A major goal of the Animal Inn Program is to show it is possible to provide wood products, reduce hazards, and maintain habitat for cavity-dependent species through education and appropriate management techniques. For information on how you can become a partner in maintaining, protecting and enhancing both habitat and wildlife species that utilize snags and down logs, contact USFS staffer Susan Yasuda, telephone 530/647-5317, or Diana Craig, program manager, at 707/562-8930.
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