1 BLUEBIRD NOTES Winter 2018 Welcome to Winter of 2018 and Start of 2019, Bluebirders! 2018 has simply flown by! As we find ourselves starting a new year, it is a good time to consider the winter needs of the bluebirds, as well as other songbirds. Food supplies, water without ice, and shelter from the harsh environment are top concerns for our feathered friends in the next few months. Thanks to Russ Bauman of Buncombe County for these pictures of some precious bluebirds in winter. Russ will be a speaker at our conference in May. See pages 10 to 12 for more details. Snow does add a nice background for photos, but inclement weather during this time of year can be hazardous to tiny creatures out in nature. We hope these snapshots remind everyone to keep the best interest of our beautiful Blues and other North Carolina birds in mind during the upcoming cold season. We have included tips and resources to address these issues. Please see pages 3 to 5 for some winterizing tips to help the Blues and other feathered friends. We strive to help you help the bluebirds and other cavity nesting songbirds native to the Tarheel state.
Transcript
1
BLUEBIRD NOTES
Winter 2018
Welcome to Winter of 2018 and Start of 2019, Bluebirders!
2018 has simply flown by! As we find ourselves starting a new year, it is a good time to consider the
winter needs of the bluebirds, as well as other songbirds. Food supplies, water without ice, and shelter
from the harsh environment are top concerns for our feathered friends in the next few months.
Thanks to Russ Bauman of Buncombe County for these pictures of some precious bluebirds in winter. Russ will
be a speaker at our conference in May. See pages 10 to 12 for more details. Snow does add a nice background
for photos, but inclement weather during this time of year can be hazardous to tiny creatures out in nature.
We hope these snapshots remind everyone to keep the best interest of our beautiful Blues and other North
Carolina birds in mind during the upcoming cold season. We have included tips and resources to address these
issues. Please see pages 3 to 5 for some winterizing tips to help the Blues and other feathered friends. We
strive to help you help the bluebirds and other cavity nesting songbirds native to the Tarheel state.
WINTERIZING FOR THE BLUEBIRDS (1 OF 3)How You Can Help Bluebirds in the Winter Months
Similar to people, the top needs of bluebirds in the winter involves food, water, and shelter. Concerns of the Blues during the season of cold, and tips for helping them, can be found on our website, ncbluebird.org, as well as nabluebirdsociety.org, and sialis.org. Some commonly known important winter tips from NCBS bluebird experts, and these three resources, have been summarized on the next three pages.
Fresh Unfrozen Water is Essential
Supply Drinking Water all Year, with Extra Care in Winter!
Picture to the right was submitted by Russ Bauman, Buncombe County Coordinator. It was snapped at a time
when this Robin was dealing with very cold temperatures.
As indicated by the photo, the water supply for birds can
be scarce during times of weather this frigid.
Photos below, also from Russ, show the gratitude of a bluebird and another songbird enjoying drinks of water.
It is essential that birds have access to clean drinking water all year long. Humans can’t stop the
coldness and ice of Mother Nature, but there are ways we can give bluebirds and other feathered friends
some assistance to survive the bitter months.
Provide birdbaths with fresh water. During freezing weather, be aware of ways to keep ice melted.
A tip from Mr. Bill Satterwhite, the “Bluebird Man” of Wake County, is that adding a warm stone
or brick to water can help keep ice at bay for many hours.
Check with your local bird supply stores, such as Wild Birds Unlimited, for products that can
help you help provide water for our feathered friends in times of ice and snow.
4
What do Bluebirds Eat in Winter?
To help attract bluebirds to your area and supplement their diet during winter months, planting the
following berry-producing shrubs, trees and vines are helpful:
Flowering Dogwood
Foster Holly
Red Cedar
American Elderberry
Bluebirds have been confirmed to prefer the fruit from these plants. These landscape additions also add
scenic beauty to your property.
Another way to help our feathered friends is to provide a bluebird feeder with items such as:
Raisins
Currants
Mealworms
Dogwood Berries
More details about food for bluebirds can be found at the following resources:
ncbluebird.org (our website)
sialis.org (fantastic website with much helpful bluebird information)
nabluebirdsociety.org (website for NABS, North American Bluebird Society)
WINTERIZING FOR THE BLUEBIRDS (2 OF 3)
A wealth of helpful information is provided in the archives for NABS, found at the following link:
http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/publications/
5
Shelter from the Winter Elements
Nature provides places of shelter for bluebirds and other songbirds, but sometimes the harshness of winter’s
elements can present challenges for adequate lodging for our feathered friends. Cedar and pine trees can benice places for bluebirds to perch and roost; however, if snow and ice are prevalent, it may not be their best option. The value of nest boxes for bluebirds can’t be stressed enough. The nest boxes can be used for shelter
in colder months, as well as the shelter of eggs during the nesting seasons.
January is time to:
Clean out old nests
Add new nest boxes
Start a new trail
February is when:
Bluebirds return and start looking for mates and nesting
sites
You need to be ready for their return, with clean nest
boxes
March - April is time you start to see results. Nest selection and nest building action.
See ncbluebird.org, nabluebirdsociety.org, and sialis.org for
more tips on installing and maintaining nest boxes.
Prepare for the sight of 2019 Baby Blues!
WINTERIZING FOR THE BLUEBIRDS (3 OF 3)
6
NCBS Board meetings are often held at the Orange County Library in Hillsborough, NC. County Coordinators are often well represented at these management meetings to help guide the direction of our organization. If you would like to attend one of our Board meetings, or volunteer as a County Coordinator or on the Board, please contact Ken Kernodle or any Board Member.
Photo below left includes representatives from Orange (Chuck Brewer), Davidson (Ray Welch), and Warren (Stella Rideout) Counties. Stella Rideout, Warren County, and David Hindlsey, Edgecombe County, are shown discussing information in Bluebird Tips at a past meeting in the photo below right.
COUNTY COORDINATOR CORNERThe annual conference is a great time for bluebirders to meet some of the County Coordinators of our organization. Pictured below are representatives of NCBS at past conventions at Haw River State Park. Photo below left under the NCBS sign includes Sandy Rhodes (Beaufort County), Ray Welch (Davidson County), and David Hindsley (Edgecombe County).
Photo below right is Susan Williams. She served as the Craven County Coordinator for many years and found us two great replacements before she left the role. Clay and Kathy Hodge are helping with bluebird conservation in this area currently, thanks to the referral from Susan.
The happy smiles of these folks show how much fun can be found at the retreat at Haw River State Park. See more details on pages 10, 11, and 12, and ncbluebirdannualconference.org regarding the upcoming conference in May.
7
2018 NEST BOX COMMENTS (1 of 2)Kathy Borkland (Brunswick) ….. One nest with 4 eggs was abandoned. Not sure why. They weren’t
frozen. Started laying 3/23. Left the nest in box until 5/15 at least, but no activity. Decided to empty. Soon
after another couple built, laid 5 eggs and all went well.
Teri Norconk (Buncombe) ….. One egg of the total 9 did not hatch.
Diane Hankins (Buncombe)….. I continue to apply Snake-B-Gone (or Snake Away) generously around the bottom of nest box poe. The blues waited til the chickadees fledged & then nested in their favorite box. PS: I think the newsletter is fantastic!!
Gene Moore (Catawba) ….. I only have 2 boxes due to large wooded area in back yard - last year I had about 75% survival rate for fledglings but this year was terrible - not sure why - hope others had better results than I did - most of the eggs didn’t develop.
Bob Warmuth (Catawba)….. We continue to have very active bluebirds around our golf courses. I am including a summary sheet listing results by our monitors. Our club members are always interested in our results and will often stop us to inquire if we happen to be out doing our monitoring.
Carmen Moore (Cherokee) ….. First season since I’ve been monitoring bluebird boxes that I’ve fledged more tree swallows than bluebirds. I’m concerned the tree swallows will eventually drive the bluebirds away.
Jan Olson (Cherokee) ….. I have 3 boxes. The first nest is always in the lower box. The second in the middle box. Never get 2 nests in 1 box. I believe it is the same pair that use both boxes year after year.
Kay Cameron (Cherokee & Forsyth) ….. In Winston-Salem I had chickadees in one box (just one nesting)
and Carolina wrens in the other box (just one nesting). We got to Murphy sporadically this year, but often
enough to know 2 of 3 boxes had 2 nesting of bluebirds each. Other box had one tree swallows. I am not sure
of fledging dates in Murphy.
Ray Welch (Davidson) ….. The count for other cavity dwellers is not correct as I had two broods with House
Wrens that used a decorative nest box that we could not monitor. They had at least 2 nesting, but the numbers
are unknow. We also had one nesting of Chickadees that raised one brood and all six fledged. Overall, this was
a great season for the bluebirds!
Ken Kernodle (Durham) ….. Increased black snake activity this year! Removed one black snake from box
during first nesting only to have another one come during second nesting.
Loraine Simpson (Durham) ….. Stella, Loraine Simpson, my mother-in-law has dementia (frontal -temporal) and lives with my wife (Anne) and me here in Chapel Hill (southwest Durham). We enjoy watching birds from our breakfast room window. I watch them long after Anne leaves for work at UNC (I am retired). Our favorite birds are bluebirds. We have only one bird box in our backyard, but we believe we re a part of the conservation effort.Rhett Johnson and Bill Abbey (Forsyth) ….. Bird to box ratio was 4.2. Last year is was 4.8. Of 40
total boxes, 11 had eggs and will be relocated in 2019.
Lynne Gray (Guilford) ….. Overall, we had more problems with black snakes invading boxes that in recent years - but in the “off season” we plan to add baffles where most needed and to relocate some boxes. We hope this helps.
8
Jim Jochum (Guilford) ..... Mockingbirds are still a problem by attacking the female bluebirds at the nest
box and driving them away.
Lisa T Spainhour and Barbara Taylor (Harnett) ….. 2018: Buies Creek Garden Club Birdwatch on the
Nancy Blair Eliason Bluebird Trail along the Keith Hills Golf Course experienced another successful year.
The club members monitoring the 39 boxes were Barbara Taylor and Lisa Spainhour.
Sally Tiller (Wake) ….. Not a “productive” a year this past season for some reason.
Barbara Haralson (Guilford) ..... Usual number of tree swallows and in same boxes as previous years.
Only one house sparrow nest which was cleared out before any eggs were laid. A few Bluebird fledglings
were in nest box longer than average (approximately 23 days) during first cycles.
J. Bruce Thorne (Macon) ….. This is my first year - very disappointed. Swallows seem to invade in early season. They were everywhere! BB didn’t get started until June - only had 2 nests. Bluebirds seemed to be afraid of the swallows.
Harry McRae (Montgomery) ….. Lost several clutches to black snakes. I am using different type predator guard now. I think it will eliminate snakes. Also I had problem (especially 1st broods and beginning of 2nd broods) with mites infesting boxes. I had to spray several boxes to eliminate problem. I think mites were more problem because of wet wet spring.
Jim and Jean Walker (Moore ) ….. Our 5 special Brown Headed NutHatch boxes have attracted these birds each of the 3 years since we have installed them near Bluebird Nest boxes.had to spray several boxes to eliminate problem. I think mites were more problem because of wet wet spring.
Nancy Kinney (Moore ) ….. Approximately a third of the bluebird boxes had titmouse, chickadee and nuthatch activity but no numerical data (one of the monitors did not report numbers of eggs, hatchling & fledglings.)
Judy Wesoloski (New Hanover) ..... About 20 people (forming 5 teams) have been involved in monitoring nest boxes on the prophecy of each of the 5 courses. The Landfall community experienced tremendous winds and rain during Hurricane Florence (about 3,000 trees down), so there is obvious concern for next season’s bluebirds.
Stephanie Stone (Wake) ..... Higher number of Brown Headed NutHatch this season …. 8 fledged.
Susan Wyatt (Wake) ….. Once again we had many (36) eggs laid that were not fertilized, Is there a shortage of male bluebirds?
Diane Woerner (Wake) ….. 1) Several very successful nestings with most babies fledgling. 2) However, less fledglings overall this year (96 in 2017; 74 in 2018). 3) No predator problems observed at nest boxes. 4) Main problem seemed to be infertile eggs; also I think a few parents may have been killed by hawks.
2018 NEST BOX COMMENTS (2 of 2)
Dave & Carrie Helston (Wake) ..... We were lucky enough to witness both fledglings from both nestings. The last ones fledged on the Fourth of July - our wedding anniversary - and what a thrilling and special gift it is to see them work up the courage and take the leap into the big, wide world!
Thanks to all who monitored nest boxes and submitted 2018 survey data. And a big round of applause to Stella Rideout, Warren County Coordinator, who has been managing the survey submissions for several years.
2018 NEST BOX SURVEY DATA
10
2019 CONFERENCE AGENDA / REGISTRATION
The Summit Center at Haw River State Park, 339 Conference Center Drive, Browns Summit, NC 27214
Saturday, May 11, 2019 (8:00 am to 4:00 pm)
You are welcome to spend Friday night May 10 at Haw River State Park (See form below.)
8:00 – 9:00 Registration (Coffee and Danish/Meet and Greet)
9:00 – 9:15 Opening Ceremony Presented by Boy Scouts
9:15 – 9:30 Welcome: Ken Kernodle, President of North Carolina Bluebird Society
9:30 – 10:00 Annual Business Meeting
10:00 – 10:30 Break: Visit Vendors, Bid on Silent Auction Items, Door Prizes, View Displays
10:30 – 12:00 Speaker – Bernie Daniel, President of North American Bluebird Society (NABS)
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 2:30 Speaker – Russ Bauman, Nature Photographer and Buncombe County Coordinator
2:30 – 3:15 Sharing Time Facilitated by NCBS Directors
3:15 – 3:30 Results of Silent Auction / Door Prizes / Evaluation Forms
3:30 – 4:00 Bluebird Nesting Box Trail Walk
REGISTRATION FORM
Return this form and check payable to NCBS by May 2, 2019 to:
Contribute to the NCBS Annual Conference Tradition
Every year at the North Carolina Bluebird Society’s Annual Conference, attendees enjoy bidding on the diverse items displayed at the Silent Auction table. Conference-goers also have a chance to buy raffle tickets for the Door Prize.
All attendees receive several raffle tickets in their welcome packet, but many opt to increase their chances of winning by buying additional raffle tickets. All proceeds benefit the North Carolina Bluebird Society.
FUN DOOR PRIZES AND SILENT AUCTION
Auction items should be bluebird, bird, or nature related. Entries in past years have included photos(framed or matted), stationery, bird houses, painted ceramics, books, games, or birding accessories.
Perhaps you have an item you would like to donate to the Silent Auction or the Door Prize for our May 11, 2019 Annual Conference.
For more details, contact any NCBS Officer or Kay Cameron at (703) 336-2865.
Your generosity and creativity are appreciated!
12
HAW RIVER GUEST SPEAKERS
NCBS 2019 Annual Conference Speakers Announced
We are very excited about two speakers who will be making presentations at our North Carolina Bluebird
Society (NCBS) Annual Conference on May 11, 2019. Bernie Daniel, the current president of the North
American Bluebird Society (NABS) has accepted our invitation to speak at our annual conference. Bernie
has been a Bluebirder for over 50 years! He is a life member and past president of the Ohio Bluebird
Society. He has been a NABS member since 2001, serving on the Board, as Editor, and currently President.
Bernie is a retired environmental research scientist and has published some 140 research peer-reviewed
papers in environmental science. Bernie has participated in the North American Breeding Bird Survey since
1996. Bernie lives in southwest Ohio where he maintains his own bluebird trail.
Our second presenter will be Russ Bauman, an NCBS member since 2010 and Buncombe County
Coordinator since 2015. You may be familiar with some of Russ’s photography, which appear regularly
in NCBS newsletters, on our website (ncbluebird.org), and Facebook page. The cover and back page of
this publication have some fantastic winter bluebird shots taken by Russ.
Russ is a retired broadcast photojournalist. His love of nature and interest in birding inspired him to pursue
still photography when he retired to Western North Carolina from Texas. Many of his photos have been
taken in his own backyard. Russ’s work has been published in Birds and Blooms, Biltmore Beacon,
Bluebird Journal of the North American Bluebird Society , as well as other birding publications.
We welcome you to attend the upcoming NCBS Annual Conference. You won’t want to miss this
opportunity to meet these inspiring people!
Hope to see you in May!
Kay Cameron, NCBS Vice President/Recording Secretary
A wealth of positive comments were received
regarding the picture show presented by Russ at
the 2016 conference. Other committments kept Russ from speaking at our conferences in 2017 and 2018, but he will be back in 2019.
The visual presentation by Russ in 2016brought people to happy tears from the joy of
seeing so many beautiful bluebird photos.
With Bernie Daniel of NABS joining forces
with Russ for the presentations, 2019 will
offer a spectacular event that bluebirders and
nature lovers will cherish.
13
WELCOME 2019 NCBS MEMBERSHIP FORM
NCBS memberships options are one or three years. Dues: $10.00 per year or $25 for three years
Gift membership from _______________________________to:
Forsyth Gaston Granville Guilford Haywood Henderson Iredell Johnston Lincoln Moore Nash Orange Pitt Richmond
Dana GlennPhil WaltersJim Jochum Richard GouldJoe SandersB.J. Taylor Ethelene AllenPat ProbstJim and Jean Walker Bill Highsmith Chuck BrewerDr. Edward Davis Matthew Grant
Rockingham Lewis ComptonRutherford Christine AmmonsSampson Darene HoneycuttStanly Dana GlennWake Joye StephensonWarren Stella RideoutWatauga Dr. Lynn SieffermanWayne Virginia PicklesWilkes Juanna Wooten
