I spent the weekend preparing Lime Hollow’s Blue Bird and Wood Duck Nest Boxes for the upcoming breeding season. Believe it or not there are 35 Bluebird boxes and 10 Wood Duck Boxes on the property. I’m working to get them all documented on Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birdhouse Network –a cool website if you havn’t been there http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse.

Lime Hollow will need a dedicated team of nest box monitors so stay posted for the upcoming information/instruction meeting. A few very adventurous-type monitors are needed so don’t think this is a small boring task.

Last year there were 4 sucessfully fleged new Bluebirds and many Tree Swallows.
In the last 3 days there have been ~8 male Bluebirds spotted including two singing males on saturday and a male on a nest box seen by Arnold on, i think, thursday. So I have high hopes on at least a few more successful nests.

I’m excited about the conservation education and data that can come out of a well monitored nest box trail.

Many thanks to Kevin Douglass for constructing numerous Wood Duck and Bluebird Nestboxes. Also thanks to the people who don’t notice when I take metal pipes from their trash to use for nest box poles.

Other Limehollow bird sightings; a big push of Song Sparrows today, many American Robins, several Cedar Waxwing flocks of 30+, Young male Redwing Blackbirds doing their best to claim some territory, a “peent”ing Woodcock, and plenty of singing Northern Cardinals spreading their “Cheer, Cheer, Cheer”

ok, I’m done,
good birding,

Ryan Butryn