Bluebird Trail Monitoring 2019
|
Bluebirds suffered major population declines with loss of native forests. These losses have been reversed with the help of Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW). The organization developed successful Bluebird box designs, locations, and predator control. Although Bluebirds are the target bird for these boxes, other cavity nesting song birds in the Biocore Prairie also benefit from them, including Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Black-capped Chickadees.
The Biocore Prairie Bluebird Trail consists of 8 Bluebird Boxes, mounted on predator resistant steel poles around the Biocore Prairie. The boxes are located near walking paths as shown on the map. A Citizen Science team of 5 members of the Friends maintains the trail and monitors the boxes weekly. Data are tabulated below, with the most recent week at the top. The annual summary is submitted to BRAW. 
Photogenic Bluebird seeks photo opportunity. Box 2. Arlene Koziol, 06-18-2019
Statistics of the 2019 Biocore Bluebird Trail season:
8 boxes 8 Eastern Bluebirds fledged 14 Eastern Bluebird eggs 16 Tree Swallows fledged 5 House Wren fledged 
Next Monitor: Please verify egg identity in Box 7, recorded 05-21-2019
May 15. – Pair of Bluebirds seen by Box 8, contesting the Tree swallows, who are also interested in this nest box. Another pair of Bluebirds is seen near the Orchard, close to Box 7. Observed by Seth McGee.
April 8, 2019
Maintenance walk of the Bluebird trail by Paul Noeldner. They saw Bluebird pairs establishing territorial ownership at 3 boxes and nesting activity at 2 of the boxes! The remaining boxes were empty. Box 14 had a beautifully shaped BB nest with fully formed cup. Box 16 had the beginning of nest. Recommendation to establish a perching pole near Box 14. March 26, 2019. David Liebl reports seeing a Bluebird at the Biocore Prairie. |
The BRAW design Bluebird boxes are luxury boxes, considering that the cedar wood used for building them is more than 100 years old and from the attic floor of a Wisconsin home. The trail was established by the Friends in 2014. Below, click on earlier years of monitoring results.
Photo 4-8-19, Paul Noeldner
Bluebird trail monitoring sheet 2019
Bluebird Trail Home 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 The Madison Bluebird Trails are an ongoing Madison Bird City Partners initiative. Trails and boxes are located, installed and monitored weekly using recommendations and protocols established by BRAW, the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (braw.org). Annual summary report data is submitted to BRAW to document success and continually improve practices and to the eBird database at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for scientific analysis and application. See the story of the Biocore Bluebird Trail. 2019 monitors: Primary Monitor: Jeff Koziol Monitors: Pam Fornell, Gisela Kutzbach, Genevieve Murtaugh Coordinating monitor: Paul Noeldner 
June 8, 2019. Tree swallow nest with feathers and eggs.
Tree swallow on nest box. Photo David Liebl
May 15. Five beautiful Bluebird eggs.
In early June, when Jeff inspected Box 14, 5 nestlings were found dead. No parents were in sight.
June 8. The fledglings did not survive.
House Sparrow laid eggs in a nest taken over from Tree Swallows, but the nest was originally built by Bluebirds. Fierce competition for nesting cavities at the Biocore Prairie.
|
