Time to make sure those bluebird nest boxes are clean, repaired, and ready for spring. Male bluebirds start looking for nesting sites right about now and its great to have a pair start off the season with you. First eggs can be as early as the last week of March.
If you have a nest box up, be sure to use predator guards. The birds don’t mind a bit but they do deter snakes and raccoons from getting in there and and eating the eggs, the young, or the roosting female. We’re having a workshop on making predator guards in March. Plans for nest box predator guards can be found here.
As the bluebird nest box monitoring season kicks off, we’re always looking for more volunteers to help monitor our public nest box trails and we also love to get data from you on your home trails. Learn more about the Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring in Loudoun on our website and also come on out for our February Bluebird program orientation. We provide information on bluebirds, the nest box trail setup as well as training on how to do the monitoring and data collection.