The Hubert Prescott Western Bluebird Recovery Project is an Oregon project dedicated to the maintenance and recovery of the Western Bluebird, which is on the Sensitive Species List for the Lower Willamette Valley.  Nest boxes, placed in the proper habitat, can increase our bluebird population, but boxes must be cared for and managed for bluebirds each year.  That is the critical role that you, as a nest box monitor, will fill.  You will work closely with one of our bird banders to gather information about the bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting species that use our nest boxes.  Data which nest box monitors collect is entered into our computer data base and shared with the North American Bluebird Society and other organizations interested in sensitive songbird populations.

The Western Bluebirds in the Lower Willamette Valley are not migratory.  Many remain in their nesting territories through out the winter and may be seen inspecting boxes as early as February.  They begin nest building activity between late March and mid-April.  The female does all of the nest building and can complete the task in 3 days; however, she may take 2 to 3 weeks.  Usually the nest, which may be 3 to 5 inches deep, is constructed of fine dry grass.  Other times the female may use rootlets or other available vegetation.  Rarely will you find feathers in a bluebird nest.

Egg laying usually begins in mid-April for the first clutch.  A second clutch is usually started a week to 10 days after the first brood fledges.  On rare occasions, a third clutch will be attempted.  In this case, egg laying may take place as late as mid-July.  Four to seven blue eggs are laid, usually at one day intervals.  On rare occasions, the eggs may be white rather than blue.

Under normal circumstances incubation begins after the last egg is laid, and eggs hatch in 13 to 14 days.  Only the female incubates the eggs and broods the featherless nestlings.  The male defends the territory and feeds the female and the nestlings.  Nestlings are banded when they are 7 to 13 days old.  Adults are also trapped and banded using a cage-like trap baited with meal worms.  The nestlings remain in the nest for 19 to 22 days.  Once they fledge, they will not go back into the nest box.  Both the male and the female feed the nestlings spiders, flies, caterpillars, crickets and other high-protein insects.  The parents continue to feed the young for several weeks after they leave the nest box. 

You will probably start your volunteer work monitoring an established bluebird trail with from 20 to 35 nest boxes.  You will receive a list of the nest boxes on your route, as well as an individual monitoring sheet for each nestbox.  Although not all nest boxes have been physically marked, each one will have a unique 7-digit number assigned to it.  That number will appear on your monitoring sheet.  Be very careful to record the correct nest box number with all of your observations. 

Inspect all of the nest boxes on your trail every week to 10 days, beginning April 1 and continuing until the last clutch fledges (this may be as late as August 15).  Although swallows usually produce only one clutch, you may need to keep checking those boxes for a little while as other swallows that did not secure a nest box earlier may move in and produce a clutch.  Occasionally bluebirds will move to a different box for their second clutch.  If you can’t check your route due to vacation plans or illness, contact your bander so that she or another volunteer can do it for you.

Most of our nest boxes are on private property.  We always obtain permission from landowners before placing nest boxes on their property.  Generally, you will not need to get permission each time you visit.  Place your “Bluebird Recovery Project” sign on the dashboard of your car and leave all gates, whether opened or closed, the way you find them.  It is good public relations to let the landowners know when bluebirds are using their nest boxes.  If you don’t happen to see them when you are checking the nest box, you can leave a card with a personal note or call them later with your news.

We also place boxes on public right of ways—often on utility poles.  You do not need to get permission to place nest boxes on utility poles; however, be sure that the nest box does not interfere with other things attached to the pole.  Record the location of the utility pole and the pole number, which can be found on an oval aluminum tag attached to the pole.

When you put up new nest boxes, be sure they are conveniently located for monitoring purposes.  A nest box that requires a long walk through a  cow pasture may take you as long to check as two or three nest boxes placed along the driveway.  If you place nest boxes along roads, position the nest box so that the hole faces away from the traffic.

Certain “tools” come in handy when inspecting nest boxes.  You will need to carry a small notebook and pencil for recording your observations, both types of screw-driver, a claw hammer, pliers, a selection of nails, a scraper or putty knife and tooth brush to clean out old nests, and a small hand mirror to look into the nest box.  Carry plastic baggies to use when you clean out old nests or when you find dead birds. 

Park your car or walk to where you can watch the nest box for a few moments before going up to it.  Note which species is on or near the nest box.  Refer to the attached identification guide to help identify the species.

Approach quietly.  If you think that an adult is still in the nest box, you may want to tap gently on the side and allow it to leave before you open the door.  Lift the door slowly.  If a bird is still on the nest, gently close the door and move a few feet away. 

Bluebirds and swallows have been known to “sit tight,” but chickadees, wrens and House Sparrows usually leave the box if they hear you coming.  If the bird leaves the box, return and inspect the contents and record your observations.  If the bird remains in the nest box do not disturb the nest further. 

There are some exceptions to this rule.  If a swallow remains in the nest box, it usually will press up against the far wall of the nest box allowing you to peek in and check for eggs or young.  If you find a swallow in an otherwise empty nest box, leave the door open to allow it to exit.  If it seems unable to leave, gently pick the bird up and place it on top of the nest box.  The depth of bluebird nest boxes and the weakness of swallow feet are sometimes incompatible, and swallows can become trapped and die in empty nest boxes.  If you find a dead bird in the nest box, remove it.  If it is a bluebird, place it in a plastic baggie and freeze it until you can get in touch with your bander.

There will be times when you may be concerned about events taking place at or near the nest box. IT IS INADVISABLE TO OPEN A NEST BOX AFTER THE NESTLINGS ARE 14 DAYS OLD EXCEPT IN AN EMERGENCY.  The young may leave the box prematurely.

The status of the family can be determined by noting whether or not both parents are taking food into the nest box, by sounds coming from the nest box, and by the behavior of the adults.  It is wise to check out a problem if the adult bluebirds seem agitated by something other than your presence, if you notice an unpleasant odor near a nest box, if the nest box seems dirty or sticky, if there are flies near it, if parts of the nest appear to be pulled through the hole, or if other birds are attempting to enter the nest box.  Be prepared to remove eggs, living nestlings and/or dead birds.  Please call your bander if you have any questions or doubts about what to do.

When you check the nest box, observe the status of the nest building—are there just a few pieces of grass, a half-finished nest, a complete nest.  Try to identify the species using the box by observing the nest—use the attached identification quide to help you recognize the different nests. 

You may have heard that if a human touches the nest, eggs or nestlings, the adult birds will abandon the nest.  This is not true.  Song birds have a very poor sense of smell—no better than we humans.  As long as you do not harass them, nesting birds (especially bluebirds) will tolerate you with little difficulty.
If there are eggs, touch them to see if they are warm.  If they are, you will know that the female has started to incubate them.  You may need to use a mirror to count the eggs.  Notify your bander of estimated hatch dates as quickly as possible.  Bluebirds usually have pale blue eggs but occasionally they are white.  If there are nestlings, touch them to see if they are dry and warm.  Observe whether both adults are feeding the young. 

Leave a few meal worms for the adults in a lid nailed to the top of the box or a nearby fence post to acclimate them to this tasty treat. This will help the banders later when they have to trap the adults to band them or check their band numbers.  You can put the meal worms on the ground but watch to make sure they don’t crawl away before the adults find them.  If the weather is cold, rainy or windy, leave several meal worms for each nestling and some for the adults as well. 

Each time you inspect a nest box, record your observations.  Detailed note taking is optional; however, the following information will need to be collected and reported for every species using the nest boxes:  number of eggs laid, number of eggs hatched, estimated hatch date, number of young fledged, and for failed nests, the reason for the failure.  We will also want to know whether or not the nest was removed after fledging. 

The nest box monitoring forms are for your personal use only.  You do not need to turn them in.  You will be given a separate nesting report form to complete and turn in at the end of the summer.  You will also be given forms to use when you put up or move nest boxes.  These forms will be used to add new landowners and new nest boxes to our computer data base.  If you have any trouble completing these forms, contact your bander or call Marilynne Keyser at (503) 694-2738. 

Misfortune may befall a nest in many ways.  Predation is the most common cause of nest failures.  Bad weather can also be a serious problem.  Occasionally pesticides kill nestlings and adults.  Unexplained abandonment of a nest does occur, and it can be associated with any of the other three problems.  Vandalism may be a problem when nest boxes are located in public parks and right of ways.

Predation— Actual sighting of predation taking place is rare; often you arrive after the fact and have to piece together bits of evidence.  Note the condition of the nest.  Was there a struggle?  Look in and under the nest and on the ground for bits of egg shell, fur, feathers or dead birds.  Look for hair and scratch marks on top of the nest box. 
 

Cats and raccoons are the most common culprits.  They climb or jump up on nest boxes and prey on eggs, nestlings and adults by reaching into the nest box through the hole.  If you find dead or missing eggs or nestlings and the nesting material has been severely disturbed and (usually) pulled out through the hole, you are looking at one of these two predators.  Snakes usually leave the nesting material undisturbed.  The best way to avoid these problems is to put nest boxes on metal poles and grease the poles. 

House Sparrows and House Wrens may peck or remove the eggs of bluebirds and swallows and build their own nest on top of the broken eggs.  House Sparrows will kill nestlings and adults (if they can corner them in the nest box) by pecking them through the skull or the eye. 

Whenever you find a House Sparrow nest in one of our nest boxes, remove it and destroy the eggs.  Try trapping the House Sparrow and destroying it or relocating the nest box.

Starlings may stick their heads into the nest box hole and pull out nestlings that they can reach to feed their own young.  Scrub-jays have been known to mob and kill young bluebirds as they leave the nest.

If you find dead birds, examine them carefully for wounds and record any band numbers.

Weather—Prolonged cold, rainy, windy spells may make food difficult to find.  If the male is having trouble finding enough food to feed himself, the female and the nestlings, the female may leave to nest to help hunt.  Until they are 7 or 8 days old, the young can not maintain their own body temperatures.  If the female remains off the nest too long, the young may become so cold and sluggish (hypothermic) that they cannot respond to when the adult does return with food. 

If nestlings are chirping loudly and incessantly after you open the nest box take time to observe whether the parents are nearby.  Try putting out meal worms and see if the parents will feed the nestlings.  If the parents eat the worms first rather than taking them into the young, you may need to feed them yourself until the parents start responding.

If the nestlings are sluggish, quiet and cold to the touch, they must be taken from the nest box and warmed immediately.  You can take them into your car and turn on the heater, put them inside your shirt or hold them in your cupped hands and blow on them.  After warming them try feeding one or two meal worms (squeeze them first) before returning the nestlings to the nest box. 

Abandonment—If you find eggs that seem cold to the touch and think that the nest has been abandoned, consult with your bander before removing the nest or eggs.  If you find dead nestlings, clean out the box and record the band numbers of the dead birds.  If you are sure that live nestlings have been abandoned for any reason, call your bander.  It is possible to keep nestlings alive until they can be fostered into another nest by taking them into the house at night and feeding them every hour during the day.