Reflections on a First Season of Bluebird Box Monitoring
Written by Eva Getman
This summer was a first for me; my family and I volunteered as Wildlife Monitors for the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Bluebird Nest Box Monitoring Program! Once every week or so, after breakfast, we would head out to the beautiful Bald Mountain and set off through the trees to check on the bird boxes and record observations.
On our first visit to Bald Mountain, Bob, an experienced bird box monitor, showed us where our boxes were located, explained the safety rules, and demonstrated how to open the boxes and take pictures. We also discussed repairs, and the very next day, my family and I drove out with wood, screw drivers, lots of sandpaper, and set to work. I found repairing the boxes very satisfying, especially looking at the finished product. A little house all spruced up with new wood and shiny screws.
During our repairs, we encountered a surprise. A pair of Mountain Chickadees were already beginning to build a nest! The Chickadees were very curious about our repairs, and they did not stop nest building even though we were there. They would watch us quizzically for a few minutes, and then whenever we stepped back, they would dive into the box with a wad of nesting material.
Not too long after we finished the repairs, our boxes started filling up with Mountain Chickadee, Western Bluebird, and Violet Green Swallow nests. The variety in the shapes and materials of the nests was amazing! My favorite was a Violet Green Swallow’s; the egg cup was tucked in one corner, lined with iridescent black feathers, and one larger black feather was stuck into the nest so it hung over the eggs like a canopy.
I loved watching the nests being built, but the eggs were still more exciting. Our minds were blown when, on our fifth visit (5/18/2019), we found our first eggs; three Western Bluebird and seven Mountain Chickadee. Over the following weeks, we observed 19 Western Bluebird, 9 Violet Green Swallow, and 14 Mountain Chickadee eggs. The Bluebird eggs were the same shade of blue as the Colorado sky….
After eggs were confirmed in a nest box, we would calculate an approximate hatch date. Waiting for the babies to hatch was very exciting and I would approach the box with great anticipation as the hatch date got closer. I always took photos of the nestlings so I could count them without staying at the box too long, and it is amazing to look at the development over time. They grow so fast! Turning from eggs to fluffy versions of their parents in under thirty days.
After the twelfth day, we did not open the boxes. We did not want the nestlings getting frightened and fledging before they were ready. Instead, we would observe the boxes from a distance to watch for signs of adult feeding behavior and listen for begging calls from the nestlings. The boxes were always silent until the parents brought food, and when they did, we would hear an explosion of tiny voices peeping inside.
I was always a little nervous opening a box after the fledging date. I was scared we might find a dead nestling or something to indicate that they hadn’t survived to fledge. This year we were lucky, we didn’t find anything like that. Although, we did find poop. Lots of poop. Seriously, I did not expect to find so much poop. One box had so much poop plastered to the sides that the door got stuck when I tried to open it! This is definitely the grossest part of monitoring.
In total this year, we had 9 nest attempts in our 7 boxes. Of the 42 eggs laid, 4 did not hatch. We were never present to witness the fledging firsthand, but because there were no additional signs of threats to the nestlings, we believe that 14 Mountain Chickadee, 15 Western Bluebird, and 9 Violet Green Swallow nestlings successfully fledged!
Being a bird box monitor has been a very enjoyable and educational experience. Not only has it allowed me to learn more about bird behaviors and feel more at home in the avian world, but it has brought me to a beautiful place every week and let me experience many amazing things. Strolling through the sweet-scented pines, I was serenaded by a million cicadas. Sitting by a bird box, a beautiful hummingbird caught my eye as she sipped nectar from the firework-like blossoms of a thistle. When I reached the crest of the mountain, I found myself gazing out across a great range of peaks cloaked in evergreen trees and at my feet Ball Cactus blossoms bloomed. Participating in this project brought me closer to the birds and the natural world as whole, and I hope my participation contributed to Bluebird, and songbird, conservation.
Want to see some of the action? I have two videos of adults bringing food to the nestlings that you can view on YouTube (I recommend slowing down the playback speed in the video settings) or view my slideshow on Flickr to see the nests progress from visit to visit.
Slideshow: Bald Mountain Bluebirds
This article is dedicated to the 38 fledglings who spent the first days of their lives in a nest box at Bald Mountain. Originally published in the September 2019 On The Wing newsletter.