Winter  . . . 

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Nestboxes on this So. Calif. trail are kept available year round for the western bluebirds and other birds seeking protective shelter.   The first evidence of winter roosting guests on my trail are feathers left from Nuttall woodpeckers. 

Click on the thumbnail icons to see photo details:


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Carlos South
Nuttall Feathers
9/9/00

 Carlos South
Roosting Spot
10/14/00
 

Nuttall's woodpeckers use the boxes for winter roosting but not for nesting

Wood chips have been added to some boxes to encourage them to nest.

YL & Rio
Nuttall pecks at holes 9-27-00		 YL & Rio
Nuttall Feathers
10-25-00		 YL & Rio
(I added leaves)
12-08-00		 YL & Rio
Dead Male
1-14-01

The first photo above, shows pecks at the top of holes (from Nuttall's woodpeckers).
Some boxes will contain what I refer to as "claim straws" which  I believe are left in empty boxes by western bluebirds to signal that the box is reserved.  By February/March, a good number of nextboxes on my trail will have similar straws. 

SanAntonio, West
Claim Straws
10/14/00

SanAntonio, West
Nuttall Feathers
12-08-00

SanAntonio, /W
Fresh straws
01-07-01

SanAntonio, /W
Pushed to Front
01-14-01

During winter roosting, bluebirds sometimes tuck in a neat row of insulation straw along the front opening edge of the nestbox floor to keep out drafts.  A wasp was in the box at take-down and my reaction jiggled the box and disturbed the neat row in the first picture.  The second picture taken in December shows how the straw has been pushed in along the front edge to fill the gap.

Gilberto
Insulation Straws
10/14/00		 Gilberto
Insulation Straws
12-10-00

  

 

 

 

  Photo shows fecal deposits from western bluebirds during roosting.  

Winter Weekends . . . 

An inexpensive wood-burning kit will enable you to burn drawings or messages in the box panels before you construct the box.   The "Fledgling" and "Spring Goddess" (artwork shown below) are burned onto the inside of nestboxes.  The "Wild bed" artwork is on the back exterior of a nestbox. You can  permanently mark boxes in problem areas, such as: "This box was built and maintained by volunteers—please leave at (location name) for the bluebirds." 

Below is a surprise nest built during the 1999 Christmas season (below). 

image(a rat's nest)

 

On the trail New Year's Eve (12/31/01) with the local beekeeper, Lewis West, removing two honeybee swarms from trail nestboxes.

 

For those wanting to build a roosting box where dozens of birds can safely huddle for warmth, Fawzi Emad of Maryland has designed an excellent box.  Building plans are at:  http://audubon-omaha.org/bbbox/nestbox/fawzirb.htm

 

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