Top Photo: Eastern bluebird eggs.

The last nest with birds has emptied, all the birds have fledged. There are new berry baskets in each of our six nest boxes in case a bluebird, chickadee or even a house wren decides to give it another go. But, it’s late in the season and though we’ve gone into August in years past, it doesn’t seem as though it will happen this year. I see no new nest under construction, though one nest box (Parking Deck West) showed a few sprigs of pine needle and a dropping in the berry basket on last inspection. We’re going to give it a final sweep next week (today – 6.25.24) to be sure everything is truly shut down.

So, we’re calling it quits and tallying up the numbers.

Twenty-four birds fledged this season, 20 bluebirds and 4 chickadees. Of those, four nest boxes produced the twenty bluebirds with five birds fledging from each nest box, Into the Mist (5) Parking Deck East (5) Parking Deck West (5) and Butterfly House (2 & 3). Interestingly the 5 Butterfly House bluebirds were from two different nests with 2 and 3 birds fledging, respectively.

Chickadees, as in past years, used the Explore the Wild nest box and produced 4 fledglings. In previous years chickadees have used all of the nest boxes utilized by the bluebirds above (except Into the Mist), but the bluebirds got there first this year or were more persistent in their nest building. Some nests were started by chickadees but finished by bluebirds.

There was an attempt at nesting by house wrens at the Cow Pasture in April. The nest box was well on its way to being a successful bluebird nest when a house wren punctured and tossed out the bluebird’s 5 eggs. The wren, however, didn’t follow through and never actually used the nest box for its own nest. It wasn’t heard or seen again (that is, by this observer).

While it was a slightly below average year, as far as the production of new birds, everything seemed to go well for the birds (except for the house wren raid at the Cow Pasture). The weather cooperated. It was a mild spring with few big storms rolling through, fruit production, e.i., mulberries and more, was up and the emergence of brood XIX of the thirteen year cicadas meant plenty of free protein wandering about the landscape.

Average in numbers but exceptional in its flow.

We did a final sweep through the nest boxes today (6.25.24) just to be sure the birds were done for the season. Ranger Pen was along for the ride.