It’s Bluebird Time: Update 3.21.17

It is nesting season! We have six bluebird nest boxes here at the Museum. I’ve moved four of the boxes to more favorable locations due to future construction or plant succession at the previous sites. Here’s where the nest boxes are currently located: As it was last year, the Cow Pasture nest box remains where it had been, in the meadow near the Train Tunnel. The Sailboat Pond nest box has been moved to a service road on the backRead more

Bluebird Update 7.26.16

The 2016 bluebird nesting season here at the Museum of Life & Science is officially over. We had 25 birds fledge, 19 of which were eastern bluebirds with 6 Carolina chickadees. The most productive nest box was the Cow Pasture nest box with a total of 9 bluebirds fledged, 5 early in the season and 4 in a second brood. Five bluebirds each fledged from the Woodland and Butterfly House nest boxes. The Bungee nest box, which is just northRead more

Bluebird Update 7.12.16

The eggs in the nest box at the Cow Pasture, our only active nest, have hatched. There are now four bluebird nestlings in the nest. By the way, if you read these bluebird updates each week, you’ve heard me mention the Cow Pasture nest box each time. It’s the first nest box on my route as I check the nests on Tuesday mornings. This nest box is in a location on the campus that’s only visible to the public through aRead more

Bluebird Update 7.5.16

One week after finding 4 bluebird eggs in the nest at the Cow Pasture, not much else has changed. There’ve been no changes to either of the five nest other nest boxes, all are empty except the Cow Pasture nest, although the eggs in that nest have still not hatched. The only change in the Cow Pasture nest is the fact that the eggs have been moved, rearranged. It’s part of the incubation process for birds to turn their eggsRead more

Bluebird Update 6.28.16

The only active nest on our six nest box bluebird trail is the Cow Pasture nest box located near the train tunnel. It contains four bluebird eggs. It’s not too late to start a second brood but I suspect this will be the last bluebird nest of the season. See you next week.Read more

Bluebird Update 6.21.16

Finally, activity on the bluebird trail. Two eggs have been deposited in the nest at the Cow Pasture, and they are bluebird eggs. It’s been over a month and a half since the first brood of bluebirds and chickadees fledged from their four respective nests. Several of the nest boxes had false starts for a second nesting in May, whether by house wrens or bluebirds. All activity ceased weeks ago. The female bluebird wasn’t incubating the two eggs in theRead more

Bluebird Update 6.15.16

There’s not much to report this week. All nests appear to be inactive. The only nest that showed any change at all was the nest in the nest box at the Cow Pasture. It seems a house wren brought in a few twigs to top off the bluebird nest that was already there. By this time each year there’s usually a second brood of bluebirds in one of our six nest boxes. We’ve had 21 fledged birds so far, 15 bluebirdsRead more

Bluebird Upate 6.7.16

The only thing to report, in regards to our bluebird trail, is the fact that nothing has changed. All of the nest boxes are as they were last week. There have been no new nests built and no eggs have been deposited in nests that already exist (bluebird at Cow Pasture and house wren at Butterfly House). Typically in June, we would have two, perhaps three, active nests. Each nest would contain three or four eggs or nestlings. It’s stillRead more

Bluebird Update 5.31.16

Last week, I had predicted that there would be a completed nest and at least two eggs in the nest at the Amphimeadow. I also stated that I tend to be wrong in my predictions. The trend continues. There has been no further nest material added to the nest at the Amphimeadow, and of course, there are no eggs in the nest. Although there are three empty nest boxes, there has been activity in two of the boxes. One nestRead more