Today was my first scheduled date this season to monitor the birdhouses at Blandy Experimental Farm. Blandy is in Boyce, VA and shares the property with VA State Arboretum. 100+ birdhouses were placed there to revive the Eastern Bluebird (EABL) population. All bird activity in the boxes is monitored by volunteers several times each week. Nests come and go throughout the spring and summer season well into the early fall. Things to keep track of is nesting material, size of nest, species identification and recording egg, hatching and fledging dates. At the end of the season this research gets sent to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I've done this monitoring for four seasons; this year, last year and two seasons several years ago. Records show the EABL population is growing. But honestly I don't pay attention to the results or the purpose of what I do there (though I do the work correctly). I just like to work outside at the arboretum with nature. So I was excited today when I was out monitoring and found a nest that I hadn't encountered before along my assignment the "Back 20" section...
This is the box that held the new nest. This is what every Blandy birdhouse looks like. They are setup the same with several predation guards.
I knocked on the side of the box to let anything inside know I was there officially. I did not know what to expect when I opened it as it was recorded as being empty just a week ago. I found...
the box was full of densely packed moss and clumps of animal hair.
It was awesome! So pretty.
And this is the kind of bird that makes this kind of nest...
The Carolina Chickadee.
(Picture taken 04/07/2010 at another location in VA)
So that was what I did before I went to work today. It is always an adventure working on the BBT, Blandy Bluebird Trail. I also saw Tree Swallow and Bluebird nests today. 4 EABL eggs total, 3 in one nest and 1 in the other. I had six Tree Swallows swooping down at me from all directions when I was looking in another box on the trail that held the parent Tree Swallows' nest. They haven't ever hit me but they come so close that they seem to just about graze my hair. Bluebirds will do that too, team up and swoop at me when I'm looking in at their eggs or babies. I try to hurry up and move along. It always makes me laugh nervously out loud.
Also I caught the sunrise this morning from my bedroom window. This one was very beautiful. Makes me want to see them more often. I usually only catch sunrises when I have a job that makes me get up early in the morning. That shouldn't be the only time a person sees the sunrise, in my opinion, on their way to work.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy Nature. Enjoy your Garden.
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