Monitoring
Blue Box
Monitoring
Bluebird box
Volunteers are needed at the Hullett Provincial Wildlife Area to help the Eastern Bluebird recover from its dramatic downfall that has occurred in the past. By building and setting up boxes in the proper habitat and monitoring them throughout the season, as well as helping to fend off competitors, predators and parasites, then cleaning the boxes out at the end of the year, the bluebird will thrive because of your Help!
Bluebird populations have severly declined in the past because of a few factors. Severe winter or ice storms have caused many of them to suffer migration losses. Loss of natural nesting cavities due to cutting of dead or hollow trees has also had an impact. Competition from other, more aggressive species, such as the House of Sparrow and European Starling, is another major problem and still plagues them. Your help is needed if the bluebirds are to return to a healthy population in Ontario.
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis , is “a member of the thrush subfamily” and can be distinguished from its cousins, the Western and Mountain Bluebirds, by its brilliant blue back and red throat and chest. The Eastern Bluebird requires areas of “at least 8 ha (2 acres) of old field, hayfield, meadow, or lawn, with some of it mowed.” Males also need perching spots for proclaiming their territory, such as fence posts or shrubs, and of course water is an essential that should be near by. (Laubach, R & C. 1998)
10 Features of a successful Bluebird Box
1. No perch should be attached to the front of the box. This may encourage house sparrows, which are undesirable competitors.
2. Entrance holes should be 3.8 cm in diameter for eastern bluebirds.
3. Floor dimensions should be approximately 10 by 10 cm.
4. Height from the top of the floor to the bottom entrance hole should be approximately 7.5-9.5 cm.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources 1991
5. Opening the box should be easy for monitoring and cleaning. Side- or front-opening boxes are easiest to clean, but top opening boxes are easiest to monitor.
6. Ventilation by means of small holes drilled at the top of the sides or back, or gaps left between the roof and sides or front, should be provided.
7. Drainage holes drilled into the floor or space left between the floor and sides are needed.
8. Attaching the box to a tree or post should be easy. Remember to keep it at about three to four feet above the ground and within the proper habitat.
9. At least ¾-inch-thick wood should be used to build with to provide adequate insulation from the sun.
10. The roof should overhang the entrance hole by at least 2.5-5 cm to keep out rain and shade the entrance. (Stokes, D & L. 1991.)
