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bluebird research at the centerThank you to the Florida Bluebird Society for supporting this project!
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2024 update:
At the UF/IFAS Range Cattle Research and Education Center in Ona, FL we have 20 Eastern bluebird boxes, checked once a week, and 14 kestrel boxes, checked once every two weeks, located along the main roads and in some pastures of the center. The first appearance of bluebird eggs was on March 15th, and since then, we've had 8 successfully fledged nests! Currently, three of the bluebird boxes have live young that are just starting to get their feathers and open their eyes (this is their second nesting attempt). Two of the boxes have new eggs, and six of the boxes have nests without eggs. This could mean they were used during the first nesting attempt and have since been flattened, or that a bluebird plans to lay more eggs soon. The kestrel boxes, which can be seen higher up on poles around the center, have two bluebird families (who now have squatters' rights) and one nesting pair of kestrels with a clutch of eggs. However, since we originally found these eggs in March, we suspect they aren't viable as the incubation period is between 26-32 days, and they have yet to hatch.
At the UF/IFAS Range Cattle Research and Education Center in Ona, FL we have 20 Eastern bluebird boxes, checked once a week, and 14 kestrel boxes, checked once every two weeks, located along the main roads and in some pastures of the center. The first appearance of bluebird eggs was on March 15th, and since then, we've had 8 successfully fledged nests! Currently, three of the bluebird boxes have live young that are just starting to get their feathers and open their eyes (this is their second nesting attempt). Two of the boxes have new eggs, and six of the boxes have nests without eggs. This could mean they were used during the first nesting attempt and have since been flattened, or that a bluebird plans to lay more eggs soon. The kestrel boxes, which can be seen higher up on poles around the center, have two bluebird families (who now have squatters' rights) and one nesting pair of kestrels with a clutch of eggs. However, since we originally found these eggs in March, we suspect they aren't viable as the incubation period is between 26-32 days, and they have yet to hatch.
Eastern bluebirds are native to Florida and have been impacted by habitat loss, the loss of natural nesting cavities and the introduction of two invasive species, the European starling and the house sparrow. This has caused bluebird populations to decline through the first half of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1960s, conservation campaigns and deployment of nest boxes led to a population increase in bluebirds across North America. Luckily today, bluebirds use artificial nest boxes and a widespread effort by many individuals and organizations like the Florida Bluebird Society and the North American Bluebird Society have led to steadily increasing trends in bluebird abundance.
In 2021 we created a eastern bluebird trail at the center as an extension outreach program and a research project. We selected 20 bluebird nest box sites and deployed three different types of nest boxes at each site: The North American Bluebird Society (NABS) design, The Florida Bluebird Society (FLBS) design and the Gilbertson’s (GILS) design. Our research questions were:
1)Do eastern bluebirds have a preferred nest box design?
2) Is temperature, reproductive success or predation differ between nest box designs?
We checked all nest boxes weekly and monitored active nests every other day to assess nesting status, such as number of eggs, number of hatchlings, and number of fledglings. In addition, we deployed game cameras on active nests to monitor any predation events. Nesting started in February and ended in early August. All of our bluebird nesting data was entered into Snapshot USA. We are currently summarizing data and results.
We also created this project an extension outreach program inviting the general public and local 4H programs to “Become Blue Bird Watchers” with us by following along virtually, coming to the center for information and field visits and even having families deploy and monitor nest boxes on their properties. If you want to learn more or view previous session recordings they are posted under the heading “Become a Bluebird Watcher Virtual Series” at https://rcrec-ona.ifas.ufl.edu/virtual-classroom/.
Also visit The Florida Bluebird Society at https://floridabluebirdsociety.org/, The North American Bluebird Society at http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/., Sialis at sialis.org, and Nestwatch at https://nestwatch.org/.
In 2021 we created a eastern bluebird trail at the center as an extension outreach program and a research project. We selected 20 bluebird nest box sites and deployed three different types of nest boxes at each site: The North American Bluebird Society (NABS) design, The Florida Bluebird Society (FLBS) design and the Gilbertson’s (GILS) design. Our research questions were:
1)Do eastern bluebirds have a preferred nest box design?
2) Is temperature, reproductive success or predation differ between nest box designs?
We checked all nest boxes weekly and monitored active nests every other day to assess nesting status, such as number of eggs, number of hatchlings, and number of fledglings. In addition, we deployed game cameras on active nests to monitor any predation events. Nesting started in February and ended in early August. All of our bluebird nesting data was entered into Snapshot USA. We are currently summarizing data and results.
We also created this project an extension outreach program inviting the general public and local 4H programs to “Become Blue Bird Watchers” with us by following along virtually, coming to the center for information and field visits and even having families deploy and monitor nest boxes on their properties. If you want to learn more or view previous session recordings they are posted under the heading “Become a Bluebird Watcher Virtual Series” at https://rcrec-ona.ifas.ufl.edu/virtual-classroom/.
Also visit The Florida Bluebird Society at https://floridabluebirdsociety.org/, The North American Bluebird Society at http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/., Sialis at sialis.org, and Nestwatch at https://nestwatch.org/.
