Volume 6, Number 1 Winter 1984 8ialia Pages 1·40

The Quarterly Journal Of The North American Bluebird Society Sia/ia means bluebirds. Hence the title of this journal. Technically, sialla is the NORTH AMERICAN Latinized, neuter plural version of the Greek BLUEBIRD SOCIETY word sielis, a noun meaning a "kind of bird." Since the Eastern Bluebird was the first bluebird classified by Carolus t.ln­ naeus (1707-1778), he gave It the species name siali s, though he placed it in the Founder genus Motaeilia which is now reserved for Lawrence Zeleny the wagtails. It was W illiam Swainson President (1789-1855), who , in 1827, decided that the Lillian Lund Flies bluebirds needed a genus of the ir own with ­ in the thrush family (Turdidae). He selected Vice Presiden t the generic name Sialia which he simply Thomas M. Tail adapted from the species name sletis which Treasurer Linnaeus had used. Therefore, the scien­ Delos C. Dupree tific name for the Eastern Bluebird is Sialia sialis (pronounced see-ahl '-ee-ah see'-ah l­ Recording Secretary iss). Similarly, the Western Bluebird and Mark Raabe Mountain Blueb ird , the two other species Corresponding Secretary within the genus, were named Sia/ia mex­ Joseph G. Talt icana and Sialia currucoides (coo-roo-coy­ Directors dees) respectively. Their species names are Art Ayles worth descriptive of their locations. All three blue­ Montana bird spec ies are native only to the North Martha Cheslem American continent, although each ln­ Maryland habits different regions generally sep­ Richard J. Dolesh arated by the Rocky Mountains and by altl­ Maryland Sadie Dorber tudinal preferences. New York While the adult birds all show differ­ Gay T. Duncan North Carolina ing plumages, the young of all three Roger & Dollie Foy species look remarkably alike, prominently North Carolina displaying spotted breasts and large white Joan Glascock eye rings. This similarity in plumage was Oregon the principa l reason the Society chose the Theodore W. Gutzke North Dakota juvenal blueb ird for its logo. Since blu e­ L. Edward Haws birds almost always choose to raise their South Carolina young in sma ll enclosed cav ities, a young Charl ott e Jernigan bluebird sitting near a nest ing box seemed Oklahoma to symbolize our mission. The hope of any Reber B. Layton Mlsalsslppl species resides in its young. Because of Donald Sti les bluebird nesting preferences, the survival of Alberts their young may depend on the nesting box, Executive Director especially since natural cav ities, fo r a va­ Mary D. Janetatos riety of reasons, are d isappearing rapidly. The theme of bluebird young nurtured in Editor man-made structures w ill be a recurring one Joanne K. Solem in our art and literature. We hope that this theme will remind all about the plight of the bluebird, and wi ll st imu late action wh ich will allow this beautifu l creature to prosper.

Sialia is published quarterly by the North American Bluebird Society, Box 6295, Silver Spring, MD 20906·0295. Subscription pric e is included in ann ual membership dues. Single copies: $2.50. Write for information abo ut bulk quantities. Checks and money orde rs should be made payable to North American Bluebird Society and should be in United States funds. Issues are dated Win ter, Spring, Summer and Aut umn and appe ar approximately on the fifteenth of January, April, July and October respectively. Deadli ne for submission of material is three months prior to date of publication; dated items only, two months. 8 ialia The Quarterly Journal A b o ut Bluebirds

Volume 6, Number 1 Winter 1984 Pages 1·40 % ~ .~ C'/'~ EDITOR ~VE Jo anne K.Sol em CONTRIBUTING CONTENTS EDITOR Pres idential Points 2 Lawrence Zeleny lillian Lund Files ART EDITOR Eastern Bluebird Victi m of Richard L. Woodward Agonistic Beha vior by White· footed Mou se 3 George N Ken l Que sti on Corn er . , 4 Lawrence Zeleny A No vel Box to Discourage Hou se Sparrows 5 COVER Edward O. Theisinger ASimple Manual Trap for House Mountain Blu eb irds are Richard Sparrows 8 L. Woodward's co ver subject. Morr is M. Green. Jr. Female House Spa rrow Kills Blueb ird Nestlings 12 Sia lia welcomes origi nal art icles, art Lawrence Zeleny and photographs for pub llcation . Plantings for Bluebirds and Other Alth ough this jo urnal is named for Wildlife: Wo rthwhile Weeds 13 t he blueb ird , ma terial relat ing to all Karen Blackburn native cavi ty nestin g spec ies will be Blu ebird Boxes Should Be Set Out co ns idered. Ma nuscripts should be Now ' " 17 ty ped neatly and double-spaced. All Lawrence Zeleny mat eria l submitt ed is SUbject to Emergency Aid for Blu ebirds 18 edit ing or rewriting. Submit th e France s Hanes original manuscript plu s a duplicate On the Tra il 19 copy if you wish to pro of the material Do Something Wi ld for Bluebirds 20 before publication. If th e arti cle has Glldo MTori been submitted el sewhere (o r Blu ebird 22 pre viously publ ished) that fact must Floren ce A. Merriam be stated at the time of submission. Mountain Bluebird Trai l 23 Al l man uscripts wi ll be acknow l­ Dunca n Mackonlosh edged. Bla ck and white glossy photo­ Bluebirds Nest in Flowerpot 29 graphs are pref erred . Print the SUb. Flo rence E. Dillee ject, names of individuals pictu red , Report of Sixt h Annual Meet ing 30 photographer and return address on Mary O.Jane tai os the back of each photograph. Art is Than k You, Volunteers! 34 welc ome and sh ould be in black pen­ Blue bird Expr ess 36 and -ink. We do not assume respon­ Blueb ird Tales 38 si bility for manu scripts, photographs Mary 0 Ja net atos or art submi tted. The ed ito r's address Poet ry 40 is 10617 Graeloch Road , Laurel, Mary­ Kalhanne M.Braun land 20707. Presidential Points

Li ll ian Lund Files

he Sixth Annual Meeting of NABS Tat Binghamton, NY, was well-at­ tended by many enthusiastic bluebird­ ers from throughout the United States, Canada and Bermuda. We all had come to learn and share ideas and we came away with much valuable information that might solve some of our own local bluebird problems. I'm sure some of us feel , at times, we are fighting a losing will be expensive to produce. Anyone battle so that these meetings become having any suggestions for or annual " booster shots." (Not that any knowledge of Obtaining funds, kindly bluebirder really needs one!) A com­ contact Anne Sturm, Box 341, Barnes­ plete report of the meeting by Mary ville, MD 20703 (301-428·8588). Janetatos can be found elsewhere in th is issue. Awards Presented I wish to thank Chairperson, Sadie Dober, and all the other wonderfully At its annual meeting NABS dedicated folks of our Society that presents awards to individuals and helped make the meeting such a suc­ groups who have made outstanding cess. Sadie made sure the bluebird had contributions to bluebird conservation . good (publicity) coverage in newspap­ If you wou ld like to nominate an in­ ers, radio and television. We might all divid ual, group, or organ ization for con­ do the same in our own home towns to sideration by the Awards Committee, att ract new bluebirders and member­ please send a letter documenting the ship. work of your nominee to Anne Sturm, Awards Committee Chairwoman, Box Board Member Dottie Foy (Box 341, Barnesville, MD 20703. 457, Oriental, NC 28571) has graciously offered to be the Librarian and keep a The JOHN AND NORAH LANE NABS scrapbook Which will include all AWARD for an outstanding contribu­ official proceedings and documents of tion to bluebird conservation by an in­ the Society. She would appreciate dividual was made to the following per­ receiving any newspaper or magazine sons: articles especially those with pictures concerning any significant effort by Ralph K. Bell of Clarksvil le, PA, who members to promote bl uebi rd conser­ has been active in bluebird trail work vation. for almost 20 yea rs in southwestern Pennsylvania, where his utility-pole IMPORTANT: Our biggest project mounted boxes seem to provide pro­ this year will be trying to fund a tection against climbing predators. 26-minute first rate professionally made bluebird film. During the conven­ Junius Birchard of Hackettstown, tion we had a sneak preview of some NJ, who has been a major force in in­ int eresting footage of nesti ng activity creasing bluebird awareness in New in an apple tree, in a post and in a Jersey. Working through the public nesting box. We are seeking fu nds as it (Continued on page 26)

2 Sialia, Winter 1984 Eastern Bluebird Victim of Agonistic Behavior by White-Footed Mouse George N. Kent

n 1 June 1980, a neighbor reported Peromyscus has been estimated to be Othat when he checked his nesting 90% (Blair 1953; Burt 1940). Eastern Bluebirds (SiaJia sia/is) he had The soft bodies of the nestlings found a White-Footed Mouse (Peromys­ were left untouched. This suggests that cus sp.) in the box. Four of the five moving or projecting parts of the nest­ young birds were dead. He added that lings attracted attention and may well the beaks had been partially or entirely have provoked agg ression. eaten off four, a foot had been eaten off The mouse proved to be an adult one nestling and both feet had been male in prime condition. Measurements eaten off a second nestling; Wings had were 180 mm total length, tail 90 mm, also been eaten away. The fifth nestling ear 15 mm, and hind foot 21 mm with a was still alive. He noted that the female weight of 14 g. bird had left the nestbox as he ap­ Two weeks after the incident both proached; both adult birds were ex­ adult birds were present daily but tremely agitated. He further stated that showed no inclination to renest. he killed the mouse and removed the (Continued bottom of pag e 7) dead birds. I went immediately to the site, con­ firmed all details as reported and reconstructed the nesting in a time reference. The fi rst egg had been laid on 12 May: an egg was added each day through 16 May for a total of five eggs in the clutch. All five eggs hatched on 29 May. The young were all alive and healthy on 30 and 31 May. When I investigated the nesting box, the fifth nestling had been removed and could not be found . The adult female was not seen at the time but the agitated male was flying about and perching nervously on nearby trees and fence posts. The nesting box was mounted on an iron fence post with the center of the entrance hole at a height of 1.05 m. An adjacent wooden fence post was 50 em from the top of the nesting box, but was closer nearer the ground. Access to the nest cavity was surely no problem con­ sidering the arboreal tendencies of Peromyscus (Horner 1954). It was learned in discussing the matter that three years earlier, in the process of cleaning nestboxes in the fall, a family of mice had been Damage to beaks, feet and Wings are discovered in the same box. It would documented in this photograph of two seem unlikely any of these same in­ of the bluebird nestlings found dead in dividuals could have been involved as a nesting box which contained a live the one year mortality rate for White-footed Mouse.

Volume 6, Number 1 3 QUESTION CORNER

Lawrence Zeleny

What would be the better wood to use In constructing a bluebird box-redwood or pine?

David H. Clark " Tallmadge, Ohio

Either kind of wood is satisfac­ tory . Redwood boxes will last for I had two boxes in which there were bluebirds. In one box the eggs were many years without painting. Pine blue while in the other box the eggs boxes are much less du rable but were white with Just a trace of blue. Is will last quite well if painted on the this unusual? outside. It is best to use a light­ Thomas J. Desmond colored exterior grade latex paint. Aberdeen, North Carolina

Most bluebirds lay clear blue Bluebirds never come to my feeder In eggs, but it is estimated that about winter. What plants should I start in one in fifty female bluebirds lays the area for them and where might pur e wh ite eggs. Very light blue seedlings or transplants be found? eggs are also encountered quite Stan Lierman often. Cuba, Alabama

Most b erry -b e a r i ng trees , How far south to bluebirds migrate? shrubs , and vines th at hold their Kenneth G. Wise fruit through out the w inter provide Fairmont, West Virginia winter food for bluebirds and other fr uit-eat ing birds. Among th e best Much has yet to be learned are Am erican Holly (Ilex opaca), about Eastern Bluebird migration. Red C hokeberry (Aronia er­ It appears, however, that most (but butifo lia), Fire-thorn (Pyracantha surely not all) bluebirds north of sp), Wash ington Hawthorn (Cra­ latitude 40 0 move sou th for the taegus phaen opyrun), St aghorn winter, and most bluebirds sout h Sumac (Rhus typhina ), and Bit­ of 40 0 do not migrate exc ept to ters weet (Celastrus scandens). A move into areas of th e best food mo re complete list may be found in supply. the book The Bluebird available Scanty bandi ng data indicate from the Society. Al so, check the that those northern bluebi rds that plantings articles in each issue of do mig rate often go far south into Sialia. You r local nurseryman the so uthern tier of states. Thus, sh ould be able to sup ply you with here in Maryland, th e bluebirds th e varieties best suited to your from th e north go right past us area or to tell you where they may both sp ri ng and fall while our resi­ be obtained. dent bluebirds stay put.

4 Sialia, Winter 1984 Experimen tal Des ign A Novel Box to Discourage House Sparrows Edward O. Theisinger

AsI wandered around the rural coun­ wh ich at the same time discouraged trysjde working the Lynchburg (Virginia) House Sparrows. Bird Club's bluebird tra il, I had to con­ Why not , I thought, create a front House Sparrow competition from shallow box out of a conventionally time to time. My usual approach had deep box by placing a stack of rac coon been to plug the entrance hole in earl y guards inside my problem box opposite spring until I th ought the bluebirds were the pig farm? After all, once a bird ready for nesti ng. When this strateg y entered such a box, the bird shou ld con­ fai led, I repeated ly removed House sider it shallow despite its outwa rd ap­ Spar row nests and eggs in the vain pearance. Since my th oughts were more hope of discouraging the interlopers. of discouraging House Sparrow s than Inasmuch as I believed th at a co n­ of encou raging bluebirds, the raccoon frontation between blueb ird and House guards were stacked tuclcrously high, Spar row would result in loss of the almost to the bottom of th e entrance bluebirds , I then took the box down and hole . An expired plas tic credit card was aband oned the terr itory. My latest box tacked over the top most raccoon guard to experience a House Spar row " take­ hole in order to provide a " floor" (Fig. 1). over " had a different outcome, however. This box, a 3 114 x 3 1/ 4 inch front ­ Figure 1. Stacked raccoon guards in­ opening type, was placed about six feet side unused nesting box at the begin­ high on a ut ility pole in a small sub ­ ning of the breed ing season. divis ion across the road from a cattle farm. In 1981 before House Sparrow com peti t io n began, nine Eastern Bluebirds fledged from the box. Then , ~ ~ pigs were introduced to the farm across the road and in 1982 I removed eight House Sparrow nests with a total of 28 eggs . Not surprisingly, dur ing 1982 there was no evidence whatsoever of blueb ird interest in th is location. Men­ tall y, I made plans to remove thi s box and to su rrende r more te rritory to the 0 House Sparrow.

During the off-season two thi ngs happe ned: A bat ch of raccoon guards ~-~~ made with imprecise hole diameters ~~~~ was set asi de and saved for no par­ ticular reason and Sie lie published an '~~~~1~w article by James Baxte r (4(4):137) en­ titled " House Sparrows Shun This Box." ~~.~~~ The box in the arti cle was a naively made shallow box that surprisingly was a highly successful bluebird producer

Volume 6, Number 1 5 After the removal of one House tu rned and started a nest on the Sparrow nest in earl y spring, it was all lowered floor, but the y were evict ed bluebirds from the n on. and the bo x inlerior was bui lt back up to its origi nal art ificial height. Both the A female bluebird built a nest of less bluebirds and I repealed lhe proc ess than an inch in height (to keep it below desc ribed above. Four more bluebirds the ent rance hole) and laid four eggs . fl edged for a to tal of eight for the Aft er a week passed and I thought the season. All th is from a bo x tha t wa s oc ­ female had sufficiently attached herself cupied solely by House Sparrows the to the box, I removed one raccoon guard previous year! layer and carefull y dropped the con tents, incl ud ing nest a nd eggs, There are a number of advanta ges downward for bett er protection. A week to usi ng a box of normal dept h and later I repeated the process to further then altering it as I have described. promote a more normal dis tan ce be­ One do es not have to build an inf lex­ twee n nestlings and hole (Fig. 2). ible sha llow box wit h al l it s draw backs. Moreover, the interior of a con ventional This lowering process was not ac­ box can be made to appear ext raor­ complished easily as th e raccoon dinarily sha llo w bec aus e it can-and guard wood did not fit the inside of the w ill- be deepened later. box precisely. It was rough wood and the hi gh humidity had altered the dimensions. Improvements wou ld have Now that evide nce is gro wi ng th at to be made later. this app roach to blu ebird breeding in After the suc cessful fledging of House Sparrow territory shows pro­ four bluebirds, House Sparrows re- mise , I think t hat some refinements are in order. For next year the wood pla ced inside will be tai lored to the box and Figure 2. Interior of nesting box with sandpapered well to ensure eas y two raccoon gua rds removed when downward movement. Each of the tw o bluebirds have constructe d nest and lay ers of wood to be remove d at ap­ lai d eggs. propriate times wi ll ha ve a grip (per hap s a prot ruding screw head ) for sw ift removal. The piece of wood th at always remains in the bo x can be so lid to eliminate the need for cre ating a fl oor (Fig. 3). Some wood shou ld remai n in the box to curtail undue han dling of the cont ents and to keep the young in a low nest wi thin fledg ing rang e of th e hol e. 0 A dra inage ho le will be dri lled down the center of all the extra wood and the bottom of the bo x as well, in the event of i nterference with th e nor­ mal drai nage . Furtherm ore, care will be taken th at conventional vent ilatio n in the box will not be cut off. Finall y, a thicker tha n usual raccoon guard wi ll ~-~. be installed around th e ent ran ce hole. -~~~ I am sufficient ly impressed with the results so far to plan a similarly outf itte d second bluebird box to be re­ ins tall ed at a prev iously surrendered

6 Sialia, W int er 1984 Figure 3. Proposed improvements to in­ nesting bo xes . Mr. The isinger has presented an intriguing design which terio r of nesting box designed to pre­ merits considera tion by those bluebi rders vent House Sparrow use. who have serious sparrow problems . Ex­ perienced trail operators certainly recog­ nized the small floo r dimensions of the box described by the author. A box of th is size IS I I not regularly recommended by the Societ y because broods of more than four suffer from overcrowding . It is obvious that the method described is practical only on a small scale because of the frequent monitoring and extra manipulations necessary during the early stages of the nesting cycle. 0 Although we cannot recommend anyone design as the ultimate soluti on to the House Sparrow "problem," NABS is ln­ tensely interested in solutions that readers have found successful. If members expert­ ment with this design, kindly advise the II~ Research Committee of the results. ~~ ~~ WANTED: Back Issues of Sialia

~~~~~ Don 't disca rd back issues of Siellet II If, for any reason, you cannot keep past II copies of the bluebird journal return them and claim a ta x deduction of $2.50 for each . site. I am hoping to take bac k territor y Many new me mbers desire complete that once had to be yielded to the sets of bac k issues whi ch we ares House Sparrow. • unable to supply. Copies of Volume, 1:1,2 and Volume 3:2 are particularly­ 225 Coffee Rd., Apt. 65 needed. Mail back issues to head­ Lynchbu rg, VA 2450 3 quarters: North American Bluebird Society Edilor 's Note: We continue to seek feasible Box 6295 solu lions to House Sparrow takeover of Silver Spring, MD 20906-0295

Bluebi rd- Mous e-cont lnued from page 3) Literature Cited: I have found no mention of preda­ tion involving these two species in the Blair, W.H . 1953. Population dynamics literature of either the Whi te-footed of rodents and other small ma rn­ mals. Adv. Gen. 5:2·37. Mouse or the Eastern Bluebird. Because predation involves the active Burt, W .H. 1940. Territorial behavior and populations of some small seeking out of a victim, I have chosen mammals in sout hern Michigan. instead to call this inc ident ag onistic Misc. Pub. Mus. Zool. , University of behavior- an accidental "meeting" Michigan 45:1-58. leading to combative aggression. • Horner, B.E. 1954. Arboreal adaptions Acknowledgements of Peromyscu s with spe cial refer­ en ce to us e of the tail. Contr. I would like to thank Mr. Clyde Tibo of Lab . Vert. etot. , University of M ichi­ Rumney, NH, for bringing this incident to gan 61:1-85. my attention and Dr. B.E. Horner of Smith College for reviewing the manuscr ipt and making Important suggestions. Rumney, NH 03266

Vo lume 6, Number 1 7 A Simple Manual Trap for House Sparrows

Morris M. Green , Jr.

y wif e Rose and I are avi d blue­ o f th e s trin g in one hand and Mbirders. For three con secutive bi noculars in the other , I sat down in a years we have had blu ebirds nesting in law n c hair and waited. Wi thin five our yard . What a thrill it is in August to minutes the male sp arrow entered the see four or fiv e blu ebirds at our bird­ box. I qu ickly pulled th e stri ng which bath all at one time.' closed the door an d I had my bi rd ! Our pa ir of bluebirds raised two I the n unscrewed the nesti ng box broods this year. At t he end of J uly, t o fro m its 4" x 4" post, dropped it in a fa c ilitate the possibl e rai sing of a third lar ge trash can full of water, put a brick brood, we had three nesti ng bo xes on th e lid and that was the end of the erected at various locations. sparrow. Then a very disagreeable thing Si nce then we have had no more ha ppened. A male House Sparrow Hou se Sparrows in our nesting boxes , migrated from a nearby farm and set although they do share our birdbath up housekeeping inane of au r boxes. with the bluebirds. Shortly he attracted a mate who was Bluebirders are indebted to Don soon laying eggs. In addition, from Grussing of Minnesota (Grussing 1980, time to time, the male showed con­ 1983) for alerting them to the strong siderable interest in one of our other " bonding" that occurs between a male boxes. House Sparrow and his chosen nesting I knew that House Sparrows could site. My observations confirm spel l the end of our favorable bluebird everything he has said . The trap il­ nestin g e nv i ro n m e n t , and that lustrated in the photographs in this ar­ something dras tic had to be done. tie Ie capitalizes on that bond. The Firs t, I borrowed a wire " Trio" nesting box itself serves as the " lure" sparrow trap from a friend ( see p. 117 in this trapping ope rat ion. of Lawrence Zeleny's book The Blu e­ During the nesting season, a bird). I baited the trap with cra cked nesting bo x, especial ly a roomy one , corn and waited patiently for a catch. should prove a fa r stronger lure than No luck. I then realized that in July grain for the male sparrow. Set up near sparrows have such an abundant sup­ a sparrow colony, it should quickly at­ ply of food ava ilable they will not be tract males. easily attracted by corn in a trap. For me , this trap has two My wife remarked that it was too desirable features: bad we could not trap the male spar­ 1. After the " swinging door" of the row right in the nesting box. That set trap has been cut to a su itable me to thinking. I had read in Sialia length, it is very simple to attach about Joe Huber's automatic trap that door and a string to any stan­ (Huber 1981, 1982), but I wondered dard bluebird nesting bo x to whether a simpler trap might not be which a male House Sparrow has more suitable for us. Quickly I con­ become bonded. verted the box occu pied by the spar­ 2. Because it is not " automatic," rows into a trap (Fig. 1). there is no danger of a bluebird I was unsuccessfu I the fi rst after­ getting trapped providing the op­ noon I tried this trap because the spar­ erator uses a pair of binoculars rows were frightened away by to observe entering birds. neighborhood boys hanging around to We live on 1 112 acres in a Frederick wa tch me catch a bird. County, Maryland, subdivision sur­ I tried again the next morning, 21 rounded by far ms which harbor large July 1983. I ran the string 55 feet fr om co lonies of Ho use Sparrows. We can­ the box to an orn amental arborvitae at not hope to eliminate all sparrows from th e corner of our house. With the end o ur part of the cou nty. But I believe this

8 Sialia, Winter 1984 Fi gure 1. Man ual Sparrow Trap (swinging door in closed position).

••

H

B • -'i G- c-

(;" ~., '§ ::t >- • 1> E i!' Cll Q'"

Explanation of Parts of Trap Shown in Attached Drawing

A- Swinging door. S - Pivot for door (wood screw). C - Screw eye. End of string Is tied to this eye. D - Small fencing staple. Another screw eye can be substituted for this. E - Left "stop" (wood screw). Limits swing of door to left. F - Right "stop" (wood screw). limits swing of door to right. G - Locking nail in Its "parking hole" (loose fit) before sparrow Is caught. H - Locking nail In pre-drilled hole to " lock" door in closed position after sparrow is caught. I- String to pull door closed after sparrow enters box .

Volume 6, Number 1 9 Nesting box with raccoon guard . Spa rrow has entered trap . door has been closed and locking nail has been moved to lock door in closed posi ­ ti on.

10 Sialia, Winter 1984 Nes ting box wi thou t raccoon guard. Nes ting box wit hout raccoon guard. Door is in open pos it ion . Note lock ing Spa rrow has entered trap and door is nail in its park ing hole at lower ri ght. closed. To prevent door reo pen ing ac­ ci dentally, locki ng nai l has been moved to its lock ed pos it ion .

" manual" (as opposed to automat ic) Literature Cited: trap will enab le us in futu re years to eliminate quic kly any mal e House Grussing, D. 1980. How to control Sparrows that occupy the bluebird house sparrows. Roseville PUblish­ nesting boxes on our lawn. When the ing House, Rosev ille, Minnesota. male disappears, the females soon .-...... 1983. Controlling the male move on to other areas . house sparrow. Sialia 5(2):58·59. Huber, 1981. Trapping makes the Although it may not be practicable J. di fference. ste t!e 3(3):95-96. to use this trap on an extensive ·_·······-. 1983. The Huber house sparrow bluebird tra il, I hope some of Sie tie 's trap. Sia /ia. 4(1):20·21 . readers w ill find it useful in eliminating House Sparrows from boxes close to 8407 East Lass ie Co urt the ir homes. The House Sparrow is the Wal kersville, MD 21793 bluebird's worst enem y and we need every weapon we can muster if we are Editor's Note: to prevent that pest fro m moving into Hou se Sparr ow s and Eur opean Starlings attractive blueb ird nesting sites, such are protected by no la ws ; therefore, the as suburban res idential areas with the methods des cribed by t he author to large lawns tha t bluebirds love.• eliminate the spa rrows are lega l.

Volume 6, Number 1 11 Female House Sparrow Kills Bluebird Nestlings Lawrence Zeleny

herever Hou se Sparrows (Passer box , howe ver, I was surp rised to see an W domesticus) are numerous , these adult female House Sparrow on the alien pests are likely 10 be the greatest edge of the bluebird nest obviously in deterrent to the successful nesting of the process of attacking the bluebird bluebirds in nesting boxes. They com· nestlings. She made no effort to pete actively with the bluebirds for the escape buI glared up at me defiantly use of the boxes and, sin ce the y are fa r with her bill full of bloody feathers. I mo re aggressive than the bluebirds , removed the sparrow and made sure they nearly al way s w in these disput es. tha t she would never again attack If blueb irds are already nesti ng, a spar­ bluebird nestlings. row will often ente r the nesting box Examination of the nestlings and destroy the blu ebird's eggs or showed that tw o of them had the nestlings and even ki ll the adult characteristic bloody peck marks on bluebirds if they try to interfere. the head, while the oth er th ree had not Most ex perienced blue bird trail yet been injured. Since the injured operators have had the experience, nest lings were still very much alive,I often many times, of opening a nesti ng left th em in th e nest with the faint hope box to fi nd an ent ire brood of bluebird that they might recover. On t he follow­ nest lings, and somet imes one of the ing day, however, the y were dead . and parent birds as w ell , dead in the nest, clo ser examinati on showed tha t one of all w it h bloody head s w here a sparrow Ihem had an eye pulled completely out has pecked them to death in a of its socket. The two dead nestli ngs characteris t ic fas hion. The sparrows were removed ; the remai ning three sur­ make no attempt to remove their vic­ vived and eviden tly were fledged su c­ tims but proceed to build their own cess fully on schedule about five days nest on top of t he dead bodies. later. The entire brood would almost It seems to have been ass umed surely have been ki lied if I had not ar­ that an altack of this kind by a sparrow rived on the scene when I did. is th e work of the male bird. This has This i s perhaps the first previ ousl y always been my observation documented record of a female House as well as that of other operators I have Sparrow attacking and kill ing bluebird talked with, whenever it has been nestlings. • possible to observe such an attack in Since this article was written, two bluebird progress. This seem s also to be a trail operators have described to me female logical belief since the male sparrow House Sparrow attacks on bluebird nest­ characteristically behaves in a highly lings.- L.z. aggressive manner while the female is relatively pass ive. Bluebird Slide Show On 4 June 1983, wh ile monitoring my 60 box bluebird trail near Beltsville, The NABS slide show is available for Mar yland, I noticed strange behavior in rental at $10.00 or purchase at $50.00. a pair of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia The show consists of 141 collated, sialis) as I approached their nesting cardboard-framed 35 mm slides and a box which I knew should contain a printed script (no slide tra y). If a brood of five 13-day o ld bluebird nestl­ cassette narration is desired add $5.00 ings. Both adult birds were very to the purchase price. agitated and were flying errat ically To rent or purchase the bluebird around their box uttering frant ic alarm slide show, write to Reid Caldwell, Co­ cr ies. I suspected th at a snake might Chairman NABS Education Commit­ be in the box. On openi ng the top of the tee , 152 Moffet Rd., Lucas, OH 44843. PLANTINGS FOR BLUEBIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE Worthwhile Weeds

Karen Blackburn

t may come as a surprise to find com ­ Imon weeds featured under the head­ ing " Plantin gs for Blue birds and Ot her Wi ldlife." After all, weeds are hardly what most of us would con sider to be " plant ings." Weeds are the " black sheep " of the plant kingdom, th ose pests that pop up between our neat rows of vegetables or creep into au r carefully manicured lawns. On a larger scale, competit ive weed spe cies are of ten a serious threat to successful crop yields on our nat ion 's farmlands. For these reasons most of us have come to regard weeds as the enemy, something to be conquered or , at least, subdued. In our zeal to eradicate weeds from our surroundings, we all too often fail to recognize th at weeds do indeed pos sess some redeeming features. The so-called weeds which fill the idle spa ces of our country generally perf orm vital services by shielding the so il from the forces of erosi on , improving soil ferti lit y, and prov iding protective cover and foo d for wildlife. Simply stated, a weed is a Pois o n Ivy plant whic h has no value in Man 's eyes. Wildlife, of course, sees things differently. woodpeckers include the persistent Poison Ivy fruits in their winter diets. A prime example of this difference Ragweed of opinion is Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans). Though given a wide berth Any one who suffers throug h the by the alert passerby, this species is hay fever season might find it difficult attractive to wildlife. Commonly found to come up with a good reason for in open woodlands and along road­ sparing a field of ragweed (Ambrosia sides from Quebec and British Colum­ sp.), but these weeds do produce an bia south to Florida and Arizona, abundance of high quality food for Poison Ivy attracts more than thirty w ildlife. Of the Ambrosia species species of birds to feed on its small found in North America, two, Common white fruits. The Black-capped and Ragweed (A. artemisiifolia) and Carolina Chickadees, Northern Mock­ Western Ragweed (A. psilostachya) are ingbird, Gray Catbird, East ern Phoebe, of major importance to wildlife. Hermit Thrush, Eastern Bluebird, Ruby­ Another species, Giant Ragweed (A. crowned Kinglet and many trifida) is seldom used by birds,

Volume 6, Number 1 13 Amaranthus Als o found in fields and along roadsides throughout the country are the many species of pigweed (Amaran­ thus). These large annual weeds pro­ duce enormous quantities of shiny round seeds which remain available on the plant throughout the winter months. These seeds are taken, usual­ ly as a preferred food , by at least forty­ seven spe cies of birds inc luding Lark and Snow Bunt ings , House and Rosy Finches (Brow n-capped Rosy Finch ), Lesser and Law rence's Go ldfinches , Hor ned Larks , Chest nut-collared, Lapland and McCow n's Longspurs, Common and Hoary Redpolls and most sparrows.

Common Ragweed presumably because of its com­ paratively large ( 114 inch to 1/2 inch) seeds. Ragweeds are com mon in cultivated and fallow fields and along roadsides in disturbed soil ac ross North Ame rica. The seeds ofte n remain on the plant wel l int o the w inte r months and are among the most valuable foods for ground-feed ing birds at this time of year . In fact, th e seeds are a preferred food for the mao jo rity of the sixty species of birds that take them. Ragweed seeds are favored by the Ring -necked Pheasant, Northern Bobwhite, Wild Tu rkey, Common Ground and Mourning Doves , Red­ winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, American Goldfinch, Snow Bunting, White-winged Crossbill , Common Red­ poll, Rufous-sided Towhee and a long list of sparrows. Though ragweeds and the plants that follow are not used by bluebirds, they are nevert hele ss wo rth KLrV noting since they are co mmon and im­ portant so urces of food for so many w ild life species. Pigweed

14 Sialia, Winter 1984 Bristlegrasses eluding th e Blue -winged and Green­ Another widespread group of winged Teal, Yello w Rail, Common weeds, the bristlegrasses (Se taria sp.), Ground, Mourning and White-winged surpasses all others in its appeal to D o ve s , m a ny g a m e b ird s and wildlife. At least sixty-seven spe cies of blackbirds, Snow and Painted Bunt­ birds lake the seeds of the thirteen ings, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, species of bristlegrass which occur Blue Grosbeak, most sparrows and throughout the country. Also known as Abert's and Rufous-sided Towhees. Foxtai I Grasses, they are common on farmlands and open sites wherever the ground has been disturbed. Two an­ Though only a few weed species nual species, Yellow Bristlegrass (S. are featured here, they serve to il­ /u tescens) and Green Bristlegrass (S. lustrate the overall importance of vir idis), are particularly abundant and weeds to wildlife and help us recognize important to wildlife. Like ragweed and the value of weedy plants in the en­ pigweed, the seeds of bristlegrass are vironment. If we are able to cultivate a highly favored by most consumers in- weed-tolerant attitude, we might then consider ways of incorporati ng weeds into the landscape. Since weeds thrive on neglect, this is generally an easy task. The picture-perfect, weed -free suburban lawn, for example, is rarely visited by birds, but with a litt le neglect it can become an appealing feeding area for a number of species. Rather than cursing the crabgrass, we co uld then welcome the doves, cowbird s, jun­ cos, and sparrows that arrive to devour its seeds. Over twenty spec ies of birds are known to feed on cr abgrass (Dig i­ taria) seeds , and the plants the mselv es furnish food for the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit. An invasion of da ndel ions (Tar­ axacum) may brin g American Go ldf in­ ches as wel.l as a number of sparrows to feed on the seed s. Dandelion seeds and foliage are als o reli shed by several species of grouse, chipmunks, gophers and other small mammals. In recent years , a number of wildlife enthusiasts have abandoned lawn care altogether, allowing their lawns to revert to the wildflowers and grasses that characterize the region. Before adopt­ ing the natural look in lawns, however, it Is a good idea to check local regula­ tions. Many towns have a " weed or­ dinance" which usually sels a max­ imum allowable height for grasses around the home and/or requires the remo val of all weeds classified as " noxious." Rural landowners usually find that weeds-plenty of them­ come wi th the territory. Even so, the wildlife value of rural property may often be enhan ced by allowing weeds Green Brist/egrass to flourish in out-of-the-way spots. A

Volume 6, Number 1 15 weed patch for wildlife is eas ily main­ (Moun tam Blue bird Trall-cont mued from pag e 24) tained with an ann ual mowing to and through th eir property. This per­ discourage the growth of wo ody mits us in some areas to have a con ­ plants. Larg e farms may employ tin uous trail for many miles. With the "travel lanes " composed of weed y cooperat ion and enthusiast ic help of pl ants and brush to provid e food and man y people, our growing organization cover for wildlife. Forest ed acre age is fledg ing more and more Mountai n will generally support a greater number and West ern Bluebirds. • of wild life species when com bined with scatt ered clearings domina ted by 1719 . 9th Ave., S. weedy vegetation. Lethbridge, Alb erta Canada T1J 1W4 It is interesting to note tha t Webster defines a weed as " a plant Editor's Note: At the West ern Regio nal with no valu e." Considering the con­ Meeting of the North American Bluebird tributions made by so many of these Society on 18 June 1983, Duncan Mackin­ tosh was given a John and Norah Lane plants, th ere must be very few " weeds" Awa rd whiie Mountain Blu ebird Tra il re­ ind eed. • ceived the Lawrence Zeleny Award which is given to a group wh ich has mad e sip ni fi­ P.O. Bo x 110 ca nt co nt ribut ions to blu ebird co nse rva­ E. Hampstead, NH 03826 ti on.

Jon Werner Becomes Eagle Sco ut wi th Blueb ird Project

Jo n Werner, 15, of Scout Troop 160 of Greensboro, NC, became an Eagl e Scout in September, 1983. For Jo n' s service project he bui lt , installed, and monitore d 10 ced ar bluebird nesting boxes .He also bui lt a traveling bluebird informat ion display wh ich he gave to the T. Gi lbert Pearson Audubon Soci ety in Greensboro. The traveling di splay ca n be used at parks, malls, lib raries, schools, public affairs, et c, The display covers the fo llowing topics: des cription of a male and female bluebird, nesting sites, food, predators, bluebird box spec ifications, placement of bluebird nesting boxes , monitoring of blu ebird nesting boxes , bluebird nesting, and care of the young.

Jon is a member of the North Ameri can Bluebird Society. His adviser for the project wa s NABS member Linda Phillips of the T. Gilbert Pears on Audubon Society, •

16 Sialia, Winter 1984 Bluebird Boxes Should Be Set Out Now

Lawrence Zeleny

luebirds are early nes ters. Even • 1. Bluebirds can be expected to Bthough winter is still with us these nest only in rural areas, very small lovely birds instinct ively feel the urge towns, and far -outlying sub urban to start their family life in February in areas. the South and early March in the North. • 2. Bluebird boxes should not be During this period bluebirds become placed in th e woods or in heavy shade. rest less and as soo n as th e weather Open areas with scattered trees are moderates t hose that have tra velled best. Large lawns, golf courses, pas­ sou th for the winter will start returni ng tures, cemeteries, abandoned or other in small flo cks to their anc estral sum­ uns praye d orchards, woodland edges, mer terr itories . fence rows, and open fie lds not to o far Shortly after the bluebirds have from tr ees can all offer good hab itat reache d their destinations their small for bluebirds. flocks st art to break up as th e birds • 3. It is usually best to mount choose their mates.Each male bird, bluebird boxes at a height of from 3 to usually accompa nied by his mate, wi ll 5 feet measuring from the ground to the n search far and wide, if necessary, the bottom of the house. Higher moun ­ to find a suitable unoccupied natural ing, up to 15 feet, is quite all right in cavit y or bird box in which th e pair can any place where House Sparrows are build a nest. When he fin ally locates not a problem. a nesting place that suits him, he en­ • 4. It is better to mount bluebird tices his mate to it and , in his most boxes on posts rat her than on trees. charming manner with a great flutt er­ Metal or wooden posts of existing ing of wings and rap turou s song, urges fences are convenien t and satisfactory her to accept his chosen home. If she if cats, raccoons, snakes, and other does accept, th e pair the n remains in cli mbing predators are not preval en . th e vic init y and to the best of thei r abil­ Utility poles are also good locations it y defend the ir home against all in­ for bluebird houses if th e utility com­ tr uders until the y are ready to build pany does not object. their nest, usually in early Ap ril. The • 5. For the best protection male blue bird will stake out an area of against predators, mounting t he perhaps several acres surroun di ng th e houses on smooth metal posts or nesting site into whic h area no othe r pipes is highly recommended . A 7­ ma le blueb ird dare intrude during the foot galvanized water pip e threaded on nest ing season. one end may be neatly and firmly If bluebirds can f ind no available att ached to the bottom of the box bv cavities or nesti ng boxes in a particu­ means of a pipe flange. The pipe lar area during th eir early season should be driven Into the ground to a search, th ey are lik ely to leave that depth of tw o feet or mor e. If the pi pe area completely in order to search is then kept heavil y coated with soft elsewh ere. That is why it is so impor­ grease while the bluebirds are nesting, ta nt to have bluebird boxes ou t early th e birds will be alm ost co mpletely in the season, by mid-Fe bruary in the safe from climbing predator s. South and mid-March in th e North. . 6. A bluebird box may be set to In sett ing out blu ebird nest ing face in any direction, although there boxes the following importa nt point s may be some advanta ge in facing it should be kept in mind: away fro m the direction of prevai lin g

Volume 6, Number 1 17 storms. Whenever possible the box not usually nest closer to one another should face toward a tree, large shrub, than about 200 yards. There are, of or fence at a distance of about 30 to course, numerous exceptions to this 60 feel. The young birds on their first rule, and there is no objection to spac­ flight will then usually be ab le to reach ing bluebird boxes more closelx • a perch off the ground where they will Much of thi s art icle was first published be relat ively safe during their first cr it­ in the January 27, 1971, ed ition at Purple ical hours out of the nesl. Martin Capital News (now Nature Society .7. Two pairs of bluebirds will News ) and is reprinted with permission.

Emergency Aid for Bluebirds Frances Hanes

In order to save t ime in an water may be used , but Gatorade is emer gency I Investigated what one really better. should have on hand fo r feeding or­ There is also the question of phaned youn g birds or adults who warmth to be considered. Placing the might be suffering from lack of fo od bird(s) inside your shirt is one solution. during periods of ice , snow, prolonged Time is so important in a crisis situa­ cold, etc. An informational sheet has tion that feeding the birds may be a been co mpiled for use by Upstate New life-saving procedure before transpor­ York Bluebird Society members who ting them to a licensed rehab ilitator. will als o be made aware of the legal re­ Transport birds in a covered shoe box quirements in caring for wild birds. lined with towels. Darkness is a The Utica (NY) Zoo has a suc­ must. • cessful bird rehabil itation program and shared the following material with me. 138 Melrose Ave. Utica, NY 13502 Keep On Hand: Cycle IDog Food (canned) Mynah Bird Food (dry). A bag could be divided among a small group R.B. Layton Given Award by of people. Gatorade Mi ssissippi Wildlife Federa­ t i o n Comments: It was found that hamburg does not appear to be as easily digested as Cycle I Dog Food. Mynah A.B. Layton was honored at the Bird Food is a fruit-based diet for in­ 24th Annual Conservation Achieve­ sectivores and will work well since ment Awards Banquet, August 6,1983, bluebirds will eat both insects and in Natchez, where he was given the fruit. Governor's Award Conservationist of the Year by the Mississippi Wildlife Directions: Moisten a little bit of Federation. He was one of thirteen Mynah Bird Food with warm water until Mississipeans recognized for their out­ it feels crumbly. Mix it with a small standing contributions to the conser­ amount of the Cycle I and feed tiny vation of the natural resources of the bits. Take care not to over feed . state. The bluebird restoration pro­ If the bird is in rough shape, gram which he initi ated, planned and substitute Gatorade as the moistening organized has spread statewide. Over agent. Use this for the fi rst tw o or three 13,000 bluebird nesting boxes are now feedings only and then use the warm in place in Mi ssissippi and the pro­ water. Fruit cocktail juice or sugar- gram shows no sign of flagging.

18 Sialia, Winter 1984 ON f TRAil

" On the Trail " is intended to provide succinc t information abo ut bluebird and cavity nester trail s. Let us kno w what is happen ing on your trai l. Send trail reports, unusual observations, pu blic i ty eff orts, etc., to the edit or, 10617 Graeloch Rd., Laurel, MD 20707.

TORONTO, ONTARIO-L.A. Smith reports that th e 1983 nesting season was disap­ pointing. The 462 bluebirds fledged from 114 nestings does nor .epresent an in­ cr ease despite putting in 140 new metal-wr apped post s t o deter predato rs. He c ites co ld weather in Ma y, th e aggressive behavior of 400 pairs of Tree Swallows, wren predati on, and po isonous sprays al ong co unt ry road s as neg ati ve fa ct ors. A total of 107 birds were banded.

HOWARD COUNTY, MARYLAND- During 1983 th e Howard County Dep art ment of Recreat ion and Park s initiated a bluebird program on county land with volunteers monitor ing th e bo xes. Four cavity nesting spec ies fl edg ed from the boxes: 39 Eastern Blu ebirds, 146 House Wrens, 16 Caro lina Chickadees, and 4 Tifted Titmice, Man y boxes wh ich initially had c hic kadee nests were taken over by Hou se Wrens. Hou se Sparrow use was minim al; vandals were a m uch great er problem acc ording to coordinat or Bill Eck ert .

LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA-The Mountain Blueb ird Tra il will hold it s sec ond annu al con ference and banquet at the EI Ran cho Mot or Hote l, Lethbridge, A lbert a, on Sa turday, Febru ary 11, 1984. For further info rmati on contact Duncan Macki ntosh, 1719 - 9t h Ave., S., Lethbridge, Albert a T1J 1W4.

CORVA LLIS, OREGON - Elsie Eltz roth sa ys th at the 170 box Corva llis Trail had a " glo rio us bluebird year" co mpared to previous years . Thirty-nine boxes we re used by Western Bluebirds: 299 eggs were laid and 201 bi rds fl edg ed whi ch wa s more than double the 83 of 1982. This year nestlings were co lor-banded t o indicate spe cific nestbox and hat ching sit e.

PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO- Accordi ng to Bob Braley, 354 nestboxes were avai la ble on the Pike Lake Bluebird Trails during 1983. From th ese boxes 400 East ern Blu eb irds fl edg ed al ong with 535 Tree Swallows, 35 House Wr ens, and 7 Bla ck -capped Chi ckadees. The proje ct apprec iated grants from th e James E. Baillie Mem orial Bird Fund and the Int ernational Fund for Animal Welfare. Dick Murphy and Ted Dyke designed a prog ram for Appl e co mpute rs so annual records can be stored and retrieved easily. As the NABS Nest Record Coordinator fo r Ontario , Mr. Braley is interested in locati ng and correspo nding with trail operators in that pro­ vince . His address is 30 Cham plain Cres., #21; Pet erborough, On t ario K9L 1T1.

Vo lume 6, Num ber 1 19 Do Something Wild For Bluebirds

Gilda M . Tori

here is good news in the air for ce l!ent po tential to increase the blue­ TOhi o's bluebird population. A new bird population in the state," said program init iated by the Divi sion of Case . "We als o expect ma ny other Wildlife of th e Ohio Department of species to benefi t from the houses as Natural Resou rces (ODNR) will be mak­ weil." Hou se Wre ns, Tree Swa llows, ing it s way along Ohio's highway road­ Tufted Titmice and chickadees are sides soon. The new project will create all des irab le cavity nesting birds that bluebi rd nesting cavities in wooden sho uld ut ilize the fen ce post houses , fence posts that line Ohio's highways. along wi th the bluebirds . The unique idea was pioneered by The Division of Wildlife plans to the Minnesota Department of Natural bui ld approxim ately 20,000 nest ing Reso urces ac co rdinq to Denis Case , cavities, depending on the success of non-gam e bio logist wit h the Division the prog ram. Ther e are plans to mon ­ of Wildlife. In th at state during the first itor so me of the houses to determine year the highway nest cavit ies were usage by blu ebird s and ot her spe cies. built, 79 of 93 cavities were ut ilized by Case added that the monitoring por­ bluebirds, Tree Swallows , and other tion of the project may be funded from beneficial bird species. Case feels th e monies generated fro m the non-game highway nest cavit ies will wor k equally checkoff prog ram. The new program, wel l in Ohio. called " Do Som ething Wild !" will allow Cooperative agree ments w it h ci tizens to co ntr ibute a po rtio n of their several st ate agencies have facilita ted sta te incom e tax return to non-game the development of the program. The and end angered wildlife management Ohio Department of Transportation conduct ed by the Division of Wildlife. (ODOT) has given its approval to use Constructi on of the nest cavities the wooden sup port pos ts on fences was projected to begin during the lining the highway rights-of-wa y. Mem­ autumn of 1983. After traini ng, tw o bers of the Civilian Con servat ion Corps man crews from the CCC wi ll be work­ (CCG) of ODNR will do th e actual nest ing along interstate highways in cen­ cavity con struction, with the Division tral and south east Oh io. of Wildlife provld lnp spec ialized too ls The bl ueb ird has not been w ithout and expertise: The Division of Wildlife previous help. The Division of Wi ldlife will also finance the prog ram wit h already has a program to increase th e fun ds generated by the sa le of hunting num ber of blu ebird nest boxes. " Hit th e and fishing lice nses. Trail for Bluebirds" is a program that The nes t cavities will be con ­ encourages private citizens, sports­ structed by locat ing su itable wooden men's clubs and community grou ps to fence posts along highway rights·of· build and maintain bluebird houses on way, then drill ing a hol e 3-5/8 inches their property. The program has been round into th e to p of the post and down very successful in attracting nesti ng 5 to 9 inches. A 1·1/2 inch ent rance bluebirds. A copy of " Hit the Trail for hol e is dr illed on the side of th e post Blue birds," which inc ludes a plan for facing away from the road , and then building bluebird nestboxes, is avai l­ small drainage holes are drilled at the able upon request fro m the ODN R bottom of the cavity. The 1·1/2 inch Publications Center, Fountain Square opening wi ll det er European Starlings B-1 , Columbus, Ohio 43224. • from using the houses though House Sparrows can still enter. An 8 x 8 inch Ohio Department of Natural Resources roof is placed on top of th e post to Division of W ildlife comp lete the house. Fountain Squar e " The nest cavity program has ex- Columbus, OH 43224

20 Sia lia , Winter 1984 " :;'"o o a:"'" Oi :; ;Q z "6 i: §'" a. o"'" (;'" c'" c" ~ ~ E'"

Eastern Bluebirds nesting in one of the Minnesota fence post cavit ies. This sty le hou se will be tried in central and sout heast ern Oh io.

Volume 6, Numb er 1 21 Bluebird Florence A. Merriam We thank Lillian Lund Files for lurnishing a copy of the following material published orig­ inally in 1898. More than three-quarters of a century later bluebirds are still battling House Sparrows-though they cannot be thwarted as easily as the author suggests. lt hough the Bluebird did not come over in the Mayflower, it is said that when the A Pilgrim Fathers came to New England this bird was one of the first whose gentle warblings attracted their notice, and, from its resemblance to the beloved Robin Redbreast of their native land , they called it the Blue Robin. From that time on, this beautiful bird has shown itself so responsive to friendly treatment that it has won a deep place in the affections of the people. The bird houses that were put up for it insured its presence in villages and city parks until the introduction of the House Sparrow, but since that time the old familiar friend has had to give way be­ fore the quarrelsome stranger. Mr. Nehrling, however, gives us the grateful lntorrna­ tion that by a simple device the Bluebird boxes may be protected from the Sparrow. It seems that the Sparrow, being no aeronaut,-not to say of earthly mind,-finds difficulty in entering a hole unless there is a perch beside it where, as it were, he can have his feet on the ground. The Bluebird, on the contrary, aside from his mental cast, is so used to building in old Woodpecker holes, none of which are blessed with piazzas or front-door steps, that he has no trouble in flying directly into a nest hole. So, by making the Bluebird houses without perches , the Sparrows may be kept away. Mr. Nehrling urges that cigar boxes should never be used for bird houses, which is surely wise, for we would neither offend the nostrils of feathered parents nor contaminate the feathered youth. In the south, he tells us, the cypress knees furnish excellent materials for them. He suggests, moreover, that sections of hollow branches and hollow tree trunks can be used in addition to the usual board houses. When this is done, the section of the branch should be sawed in two, bored out for the nest cavity, and then nailed or glued together and capped at each end to keep out the rain . It should then be fastened securely to a branch or tree trunk with strong wire. Bird houses of some sort are especially necessary on the prairie and in other regions where few natural nesting sites are to be found. One of the most effective ways to attract the Bluebird, however, is by planting wild berry-bearing bushes, particularly in the west, where such bushes do not grow naturally. For while three quarters of the Bluebird's food consists of grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, and similar insects, and it is "exceedingly useful to the horti­ cu Itu rlst and farmer, destroyi ng myriads of larvae and insects wh ich wou Id other­ wise increase and multiply to the great injury of vegetation," the Bluebird is not a bird of one idea , but extends his dietary to wild fruits, and by means of them may be brought about our houses. A variety of bushes can be planted, for he has been found to eat bird cherry, chokeberry, dogwood, bush cranberry, huckleberry, greenbrier, Virginia creeper, strawberry-bush, juniperberry, bittersweet, poke berry , false spike­ nard , partridgeberry, holly, rose haws, sumac, and wild sarsaparilla. Wilson, in speaking of the Bluebird engaged in courting his mate , says in his delightful way: " If a rival makes his appearance,...he quits her in a moment, attacks and pursues the intruder as he shifts from place to place, in tones that bespeak the jealousy of his affections, conducts him , with many reproofs, beyond the extrem­ ities of his territory, and returns to warble out his transports of triumph beside his beloved mate." As we watch the Bluebird, one of the most noticeable things about him, in spite of his familiar friendliness, is a certain untamable spirit of the woods and fields. As he sits on a branch lifting his Wings, there is an elusive charm about his sad quavering tru-st-tv, tru-st-tv . Ignoring our presence, he seems preoccupied with unfathomable thoughts of fiel d and sky. • Florence A. Merriam, "Bluebird ," in Birds of Village and Field: A Bird Book for Beginn ers. COPYright 1898. Houghton, Mifflin and Comp any : Boston and New York , PP 41·44. Mountain Bluebird Trail

Duncan Mackintosh

t a meeting of the Lethbridge Na­ and Wild life Divis ion . A generous A turalist Society which I attended in much-welcomed gran t was rece ived in 1973, a student from Manitoba who bot h 1981 and 1982. We are als o in­ was attending our community college debted to Lorne Fitch, Regional brought a bluebird nestbox. The Socie­ Habitat Biologist of Fish and Wildlife ty gave me $14.35 to construct 40 nest­ Division for our trail-mar ked maps. bo xes of the Man itoba design. That Because nestbo xes cost money first year the boxes were monitored by we are always looking for donations of members under the name of the Leth­ scrap lumber, group aid , or individual bridge Naturalist Society Bluebird Pro­ contributions. Boy Scout troops, main­ ject for which I was to be the coor­ ly in Lethbridge, but several in other dinator. Initial results were poor with parts of southern Alberta, assemble only two boxes occupied in 1974. hundreds of boxes for us each year. In Boxes were supplied for three Montana where the public is much years by Cam Finley of Edmonton who more bluebird conservation-minded had founded Alberta's trail in 1971. than in Alberta, sawmills, lumber yards When that source ended the Soc iety and contractors often donate material abandoned the project informing me read y fo r assembly. The majority of that I cou ld keep it up or forget about that material is cedar. Our most it. No record was kept of the nesting reliable source o f read y-made bo xes and soon only one-thi rd of the nestbo xes is Harold Hughes, of 150 boxes could be accounted for. Coaldale, wh o has pers onally pur­ During the 1979 nesting season I cha sed materials and constructed 200 mon itored four boxes. Th ree of them boxes for us to date. fledged 17 Mountain Blueb irds and the By 1980 we had 560 nest ing boxes fourth produced a family of Tree available with in a 60 mi le rad ius of Swallows. Lethbridge. Resu lts were encouraging : Tha t same year I formed " Moun­ 247 Mountain Bluebirds fledged from tain Bluebird Tra il " (MBT) with four 50 boxes . That was also the first year I keenl y interested individuals. Out of banded nestlings: 171 were banded our own poc kets we bought material to plus one After Hatching Year (AHY) construct 385 nesting bo xes per­ female. In 1982 we fledged 387 of manently placing each one on the trail. which 307 were banded plus 26 adult In 1980 a major expansion of the MBT fema les and 1 male. That year we (Leth) was undertaken. As our nestbox trave led 3,000 mi les covering t he 500 trail expanded throughout southern mile trail. Alberta, it was noticed by the Fish and Wildlife Division, Alberta Energy and Natural Resources , and we were We co nt inued to expand the Leth­ promptly commended for our initiative bridge portion of the trail until, by 1983, and dedication to this worthwhile con ­ 1,080 boxes were available for the nest­ servation program by Duane S. Rad­ ing season. Mon itors increased in four ford, Regional Director , Southern years from 6 in 1980 to 28 in 1983. Each Region . is responsible for from 3 to 50 boxes. Mr. Radford took immediate steps Maintenance, the collection of data for to have our trail partly financed wi th a sc ientific purposes, and banding are gran t from the " Bucks for Wildlife" important so all bo xes are visited at fund which is adm inistered by th e Fish least four times eac h year.

Volume 6, Number 1 23 Through my membership in NABS mon it or 6,000 nestboxes .In north­ I met A rt Aylesworth in July 1980, in eastern Idaho, an area which recently Ronan, Montana. Ar t had had 10 years joi ned the MBT, we have two area expe rience with bluebird conservation; managers w ith a total of 125 boxes . his mai n interest was also the Mo un­ Clarence Hagerman was the first Idaho tai n Blue bird. On 11 September 1980, I bluebirder to contact us. Ken Hood , wa s invited to Great Falls (MT) to help who recently moved to the Spokane interested bluebirders organize t heir area , is showing keen interest. bluebird trail. I was asked if Montana In Montana, in addit ion to Art co uld use m y name " Mo u nt ain Aylesw ort h of Ronan,Deni Hersh· Bluebird Trai l." I agr eed since th e state berger in the western porti on of the was wi thin the breeding and migration state is increasing the pcpulatlo n of range of th e Mountain Bluebird . That Western Bluebirds dra mati cally. yea r I du pli cated my slide presentat ion twice for Montana sendi ng one copy to Our maili ng lis t totals well over Ronan and the other to Great Falls. 200 peopl e interested in bluebird co n­ These programs have been used ext en­ servation who receive our newsletter sively by interested organizati ons in repo rt in the fal l. Our local newspaper prom oting bluebird co nservation. The Leth bridge Herald, has don e an In Chinook Count ry I have im­ outstanding job of report ing the suc­ proved my sli de presenta tion each cess of the trail. The magazine Mo n­ year. Init ially I had worked ma inly with tana Outdoors made an excell ent con­ Boy Scout groups; by 1980 and 1981 in­ tri buti on to our effo rt with their art icl e terest spread to variou s service cl ubs in the March-April 1983 issue. and fish and game organizat ions. Dur­ Those vol unteers who monitor ing 1981-82 ten presentations were boxes are as follows: Great Fal ls area, made in southern Alberta to 455 peo­ Tom Matsko, Vincent Gall i, Verne ple. During t he winter of 1982-83 I was Se bens; Bill in gs, Harold Ko ontz; invited to speak on 15 occasions to a Mis soul a,Harold Knapp; Glasgow, total of 560 people about t he MBT. Barbara Hansen; Hamil to n, Eliz abet h Kehmeier; l ew iston, Jack Woodworth ; During 1980 we deci ded to have a Polson, Dic k Hinman; Helena.John genera l meeting each year in February. Delano; Wes t Glacier, Ev Lundgren; For two year s th e attendance was Bozeman, Dennis Flath. Monitors in good in l eth bridge, but few results so uth ern Alb erta often work in pairs : material ized. W hen I sugges ted to Art Sheila Petherbridge and Jo yce Ives; Ay lesworth that we have our 1983 Randy lee, l eonard Isaacson; Harvey meet ing in Montana, he was delighted. Johnstone; Barbara Kingscote; Hazel The monitors in Great Fal ls organized Hudson and Grac e Norgard; Bill the first Mounta in Bluebird Trail an­ Skelton; Don Kirk; Harry Gresel; Hank nua l meet ing in Montana. Guest Coulter; Allan McC as kill and Bob speak ers we r e f ive dedicated Hamil t on; Ca t harine Russell; Bill bluebirders fr om south ern Alberta, McKay; Garry Wal ch; Ernie Friesen;Bill Montana and Idaho, who provided an Stanton; Clayton Trum an; L. and B. excellent day-long program. During the Sommerfeldt; Willie Wiebe; Dave Gen­ afterno on business meet ing I was of­ so rek; Ralph Erdman and Doug Wyatt; f ic iall y elected pr esident of t he Frank and Dorot hy Deane; Arm in Dyc k; organization. John Macleod and George Harris; Pat Watson; Joh n Green; Gord on and Hazel Ross ; Gordon Chalmers.Three The 1983 nest ing season in key people in ou r or ganization are ou r sout hern A lb er t a began with 28 sec retari es: Hazel Ross, Gladys Galli, monitor s checking 1,080 nestboxes . In and Carol Haycock. Montana where we had only earlier W e are m u c h indebted t o th at year introduced our monitor ing nu merous la nd ow ners fo r their syste m we had an area ma nager plus cooperation in allowing us access to 17 dedicated people lea rn ing to (Continued on page 16) AI Goga, Emil Klanchar and Mark Benish (left to right) spread the bluebird word in the North Huntingdon area, 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, PA. They have presented the NABS slide program to Girl and Boy Scouts, Kiwanis, Lions, A.A.R.P., garden clubs, church groups and in state parks. They donate four t o six boxes at each pres entation and , of course, pro­ vide construction plans for nes ting boxes. Newspaper and television co verage has resulted i n valuable pubucity f or bluebirds. Emil Klanchar has bui It over 1,000 boxes in the last 10 years. (Photograph printed with per­ missio n of Standard Observer.)

Volume 6, Number 1 25 Pres ide nt ia l Points-continued from page 21 The T.E. MUSSELMAN AWARD sch ools he has given innumerable il­ for outstanding co nt ribution to lustrated talks and demonstrations to bluebird conservation by a corporation children and adults, has supplied 5,000 was made to the following company: precut nesting boxes at cost, and maintains and monitors his own trail. The Blue Bird Body Compan y of For t Valley, GA, which has given bluebird Reuel Broyles of Springfield, MU , nestboxes to its cus to me rs, has who has probably, more than any other pri nted NABS nestbox plans on thei r single individual, been responsible for 1981-82 calendar, and has aided the helping to bring back the bluebird in Society's educational effort in publiciz­ Missouri. Besides operating his own ing bluebird conser vati on techniques. successful trail, in the la st 15 years he has made and distributed at least 5,100 (Aw ard Pho tographs pages 27·281 .. nesting boxes along with instructions fo r monitoring and caring for them. As your new President from Thoreau Country, in clo sing I'd like to William G. Duncan of Louisville, KY, share my fav orite quote from Henry's wh o has been interested in bluebird Journal: conservation for more than 50 years "Measure your health by yo ur and ranks as a major pioneer in aiding sympathy with morning and spring. If them. He designed a widely used there is no response in you to the nesting box and operates trails con­ awakening of nature, if the prospect of sisting of hundreds of boxes (mo st ly in an earl y morning walk does not banish Jefferson County, KY). In the 1950s he sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird began w ri t ing and distributing a does not thrill you- know that the newsletter touching on a wide range of morning and spring of your life are conservation topics but featuring his past. Thus may you feel your pulse." first love, the bluebird. Hi s mailing list Februa ry 25, 1859 now exceeds 1,500 persons. •

Name Changes With the publ ication of the 6th a few. We are foll owing the convention Edit ion of the American Ornithologists' established by the original editors in Union Che ck -list in 1983, some which the co mmon name is capitalized changes have been made in common when it is used in its entirety. (vernacular) names, species status, Therefore , European Starling is and arrangement within the Che ck-li st. capitalized, starling is not ; Northern This issue begins a volume so it pro­ Cardinal deserves capital letters while vides a natural point at whi ch to beg in the more general cardinal remains in using the new terminology. Because lower case; Mountain Bluebird merits there is a printing lag among commo n­ capital izati on, blu ebi rd does no t. ly used field guides and reference Names of plants, mammals, reptiles, materials in adopti ng changes of this et c., as the y occur in Sialia, are kind , SiaJia will continue to add , where cap italized by the same formula; unfor­ necessary, the old commo n name in tunately, in branches of the natural parentheses for at least the issues in scien ces ot her than ornithol ogy, it is Volume 6 in order to assist our readers. often extremely difficult to determine the status of a particular verna cular One other word of explanation is name . It is qu ite possible that in­ in order. Some of our readers may have dividual readers may disagree on occa­ the impression that we capitalize bird sion with the arbitrary choice made by names ent irel y by whim or that we the editor. fo ll ow some cr ypti c law known only to -Joanne K. Solem Anne Sturm presents the John and Norah Lane Award to Ralph K. Bell.

Junius Birchard (letI) receives the John and Norah Lan e Award from Award Comm ittee Chairwoman Anne Sturm. Volume 6, Number 1 27 Phot ograph by The Spri ngf ield Leader & Press

Reuel Bro yles, in his Springfield, MO, home , d isplays his John and Norah Lane Award along with one of the more than 5,000 bluebird nesting boxes he has built and then given away. NABS Board Member Charlotte Jernigan, of Wagoner, OK, and her husband Bill, made the presentation to Mr. Broy les on their way home from the annual meeting. In typical fash ion Mr. Broyles gave Mrs. Jernigan ten boxes for her bluebird trail. Bluebirds Nest in Flowerpot Florence E. Di llee his experience may not be unique, the concrete below the nest. Tbut it must be unusual. Four blue­ The temperature during this nest­ birds fledged successfully from a clay ing period ranged from a low of 65 of flower pot ten feet from our kitchen at night to 80 °F during the day, warm door! enough so that we did not worry about Why this pair of bluebirds chose the mother being off the nest too long . such a location in which to build a nest The plant foliage was much in need of and raise their family is hard to under­ moisture. but I was afraid to water from stand considering that we have at least the top in case 1would get the nest wet fifteen well-constructed bluebird boxes or chill the eggs or the bab y birds. So on our twenty acres . Two houses are in we took the cla y pot off the hook and the back yard and one has been used put it in a small green plastic pail fo r several years. where water could be added and ab­ The last day of May, while watch­ sorbed from the bottom. I did not care ing from a kitchen window, we noticed about the plant, but I was anxious to a pair of bluebirds flying around our prevent the leaves from falling as they back porch whi ch is roofed but other­ provided the onl y privacy the nest had. wise open. Then we saw the female Both parents readily accepted this carrying nesting material and making a temporary change. nes t in an ordinary 61/2-inch flower pot By this time both birds seemed fast ened to the wooden wall of the fa irly unafraid of us or of the tw o dogs house. The pot contained a Virginia in the yard so we were less careful to Creepe r (Parthenocissus quinque/olia) make a detour. We often looked right well leafed out. Because the pot was at into the nest as the young ones grew. eye level we we re able to watch the The y seemed not to mind at all , but the progress of the nest which was com­ parents were nervous. My husband pactly constructed of dry grasses and spent a considerable amount of time some white feathers from our perched on a stepladder hoping to get neighbor's chicken yard. On 3 June a picture of the babies being fed, but 1983, the first egg appeared, followed the parents would not approach as by four others, each laid early in the long as he was so close. I placed sev­ morning on consecutive days . eral small green worms nearby, but Then the female began in­ they were not taken . I even offered a cubating. Lest we di sturb her we began worm to one open mouth, but the bab y using two other outside doors at con­ questioned the source and did not re­ siderable inconvenience. Whenever we spond. did pass too close the bluebird would When we got up on 7 June, one fly from the nest to a nearby wire run­ well-feathered bird had left the nest. ning from the garage to a yard light, The following morning there were three where she would watch until she felt it in the nest. An hour later I could see was safe to return. The male bird was none. I carefully lifted the pot and almost always nearby, too, either on bucket off the bracket to show a young the wire or on a small dead limb of a neighbor boy where the birds had lived. hickory tree . Occasionally we saw him To my surprise the fou rth baby hopped offering his mate a tidbit when they onto the rim of the pot, sat there a were both on the wire. second or two, then flew with no hes­ On 21 June at least three baby itation or difficulty to an oak tree thirty birds had hatched. We could not see if feel away. Later we saw the parents there were others. The next day there feeding the bird s in the yard . By mid­ was a fourth. Whether the fifth egg was summer the family was enjoying the broken or infertile we do not know. We birdbath together. • did not find the egg or a dead bird or at Route 1, Box 131 any time see any signs of eggshells on Alton, MO 65606 Volume 6, Number 1 29 Report of Sixth Annual Meeting

Mary D. Janetatos

he Sixth Annual Meeting of the Bluebird as New York State's official T North American Bluebird Society avian symbol. This took place in 1971 was held September 30·0ctober 2, when the bill was signed by Governor 1983, in Binghamton, New York. Nelson Rockefeller. (See Sialia 2(1): Approximately 130 persons attended 4·6.) Shaw Lively then introduced Mrs . from New York, Pennsylvania, Massa­ Ruby Finch, of Bailey, North Carolina, chusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland, who gave a moving invocation. Mrs. New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Glenys Curran of Apalachin, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alberta, followed with a lovely poem about Ontario, Quebec, and Bermuda. birds, highlighting bluebirds . Early registration revealed that the planned room at the Roberson Cen­ Clark Pell , of the Public Affairs ter for Arts and Sciences would be in­ Department, NYS Department of En­ adequate, so transfer to more spacious vironmental Conservation gave a pres­ quarters at the Ramada Inn was entation on the " Return a Gift to Wild­ arranged. After dinner on Friday even­ li fe" program in New Yo rk State. This ing , the early registrants set out fo r the is one of the 23 state-sponsored pro­ Kopernik Observatory. Director Jay grams which presently assist non ­ Sartori gave an interesting talk on game wildlife species. Outlined by astronomy and then conducted an beautiful photography, the program excursion through the observatory. showed the Department's varied Saturday morning's activities be­ efforts. Mr . Pell spoke of being a blue­ gan with registration at 8:00 a.m. Vis­ bird fancier who has had active nest­ itors examined the many bluebird­ boxes on his property. He said that related displays. Exhibits included more bluebird activities sponsored by photographs by Junius Birchard of his program were possible. Hackettstown, New Jersey; a tascinat­ The next program item showed ing table of bluebird-related material which public lands were used to sup­ by Jack Finch of Bailey, North Caro­ port bluebird conservation. In " Where lina, featuring samples of scupper­ Can All the Bluebirds Go? " a panel dis­ nong grapes; hand-painted plates and cussion was chaired by Richard jewelry done by Fran Hanes of Utica, Dolesh, Park Naturalist and Director of New York; the stunning photographs of the Patuxent River Park, for the Mary­ Michael L. Smith (Upper Marlboro, land National Capital Parks Planning Maryland); hand-crafted log bird feed­ Commission. Janet Leighow, Environ­ ers and " bluebird housing " by Laur­ mental Education Specialist with the ance Sawyer of Ringgold, Georgia; an Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks at impressive display of plantings for the Nolde Forest Environmental Edu­ bluebirds and other wildlife done by cation Center, of Reading, Pennsyl­ the New York State Federated Garden vania, described the extensive bluebird Clubs; realistic wooden bird carvings conservation program taking place in by Fred Plaumann and , of course, the her state. She brought a supply of a NABS bookstore. well-prepared booklet on the state The program began at 9:00 a.m. parks of Pennsylvania bluebird pro­ when Master of Ceremonies, Shaw jects. (Janet left the remainder of these Lively, Director of Outdoor Education with NABS; they are available to non­ with the Board of Cooperative Educa­ Pennsylvanians on request, as long as tion Services (BOCES) , welcomed the the supply lasts.) As an instance where group. He described the events leading federal ly owned parkland is used to up to the declaration of the Eastern support bluebird populations, Graham

30 Sialia, Winter 1984 ~:~~,- ~ C'"..-

~ Board member Charlotte Jernigan and Founder Larry Zeleny at the banquet at the Sixth Annual Meeting of the North American Bluebird Society.

E "0" en c, 2 o 0: >, .c .c. '"0. '"Q, o ~ 0. ;:;:

~ ~... " . ~ ,,, .

Sharing a table at the Saturday night banquet are (left to right) Board member Martha Chestem, President Lillian Files, and Editor Joanne Solem.

Volume 6, Number 1 31 Taylor, Biological Aide who oversees bird? Tree Swallow? House Wren?" bluebird trails on the Great Swamp Following a coffee break came an­ Nat ional Wildlife Refuge in Basking other bluebird treat, " Bluebirds Ga­ Ridge, New Jersey, described his blue­ lore, " by Michael L. Smith of Upper bird trail work. Mike Allen of NYSDEC Marlboro, Maryland. The larger than read Bob Miller's report on the status Iife·sized full color views of our fav­ of bluebirds in NYS. The outlook for the orite bird were breath-taklnq. state bird was said to be "dismaL" Next, blueblrders brought their After a coffee break, Dick Tuttle, problems to three experienced indi ­ outgoing NABS Education Chairman, viduals in "Doctor, I Have This Blue­ and Doris Shaw, film producer (both of bird Problem." Questions were fielded Delaware, Ohio), described In "Blue­ by NABS' Founder, Larry Zeleny, along birds In the Movies-Rated G" the pro­ with President-elect Lillian Files of gress being made with the upcoming Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, and Mark NABS film on the life cycle of the blue­ Raabe, NABS' Recording Secretary. bird. In a break from bluebird material, Mike Allen, endangered species The last presentation of the morn­ specialist of the NYS Department of ing was given by Dick Tuttl e, entit led: Environmental Conservation, des­ "Did the Swallow Have Its Wings cribed the Interesting process of Clipped?" Dick reported that the re­ " Hacki ng Eagles ." This procedure has sults of wing gua rds at bluebird box produced highly successful resu lts. entrances were not favorable. The Tree Swallows qui ckly adapted to their presence and nested suc cessfully In The meeting adjourned to be reo the box es with wing guards wh ich had sumed at the banquet. At that time the been developed to discourage them. group was addressed by Mrs. Eleanor He also said that other methods would Anderson, wife of New York State Sen­ be sought to minimize swallow compe­ ator Warren Anderson. Mrs. Anderson tition on bluebird trails. expressed pleasure at hearing the The afternoon session began with many and varied talks that day, and the NABS ' Membership Meeting and underscored her and her husband's in­ Election of Off icers. The Nominating tention of promoting the cause of blue­ Committee's report was submitted In bird conservation in any way they proxy from Bob Bodine and was ac­ COUld. A stimulating and entertaining cepted by a unanimous vote. Regional film was presented by Dr. Stephen Reports were given: Western Bluebirds Kress entitled "Puffin Reestablish­ by Joa n Glascock of Corvallis, Oregon ; ment " expanded to include terns and Moun tai n Bluebirds by Don Stiles of petrels. Dr. Kress is research collab­ Calgary, Alberta, and Eastern Blue­ orator at Cornell's Laboratory of Orni­ birds by Joe Talt , of Beltsville, Mary­ thology, Ithaca, NY, and director of the land. National Audubon Society's Maine The afternoon's program con­ camp . t inued with Tom Outerbrldge of Ber­ An extra, unscheduled treat fol­ muda presenting the video-taped lowed . Andre Dian, of Quebec, had " Happiness is a Blueb ird In Your Gar­ dropped in to show and tell us about den. " Yes, bluebirds have established his charming book ent itled Le Retour a toehold on the tiny isl and, and Tom de la Olseau Bleu (The Return of the has made a joll y good show of it. He Bluebird). This beaut ifully illustrated also treated us to his original song fancifu I tale of a heartbroken bluebird with a gentle rock beat: " Mr. Bluebird who fell in love with a flower and seeks Blue." His nestbox is a unique de­ consolation from his feathered sign which he characterizes as the Ber· brothers and sisters of other species muda Traingle! has a happy ending when he finds a Bob Pantle, vetera n bluebirder of bluebird mate . Andre informed us that Candor, New York , discussed " Which an English translation is coming soon . Bird Got the Bluebird House? Blue- (We have learned t hat a foreword will Board members Dottie and Roger Fa y at the NABS banquet.

Adelaide and Laurance Sawyer, of Ringgold, GA, always erect a display of their log houses and feeders at the annual meeting.

Volume 6, Number 1 33 be written fo r the English version by by this fortunate group. NABS ' Founder, Lawrence Zeleny.) Most of the planning and work for Sunday morning wa s set aside fo r this convention was done by NABS field trips. One group went to Sapsu ck· board member Sad ie Dorber. She was er Woods at the Cornell Laboratory of assisted by Shaw Lively and Glenys Ornithology whe re they observed the Curran and by the members of the Up­ falcon research project. Another trip state New York Bluebird Society. A went to Nuthatch Hollow, a pri vate spe cial attraction was the Annual sanctuary where a bluebird trail has Meeting program, festively decorated been established and extensive wild­ by Fran Hanes' pictures of bluebirds life plantings attract a wide variety of caroling " I love New York! " wild creatures. A third grou p went to Once again the attendees were in­ the Fred L. Waterman Center, where a spired to carryon the rewarding task slide program was given by Jane Cod­ of restoring bluebirds to native dington, Dire ctor. Bluebirds were seen pla ces. •

Thank You, Volunteers!

Recently I received in themaii a and Teresa Caldwel l are now handling lovely advertisement for a del icat e the slide program. This young couple vase graced with bluebirds painted by lives in Lucas, OH, where Reid is park that "modern-day Audubon ," Roger ranger and Teresa is park naturalist at Tory Peterson. Then I rece ived word Malabar Farm State Park. Reid is co­ that the Campfire Organization was chairing the Education Committee with receiving an award from the National Bryan Shantz of Red Deer, Alberta. Wildlife Federation for the ir bluebird Tedd Gutzke continues hi s fine work as conservation activities. Bluebirds are Chairman of the Resear ch Committee. making a big comeback and we at the He scar cely missed a beat when he North American Bluebird Society can was transferred from Great Swamp Na­ say ," We mu st have helped." Yes, tional Wildlife Refuge in Basking through the largely volunteer efforts of Ridge, NJ, to J. Clark Salyer NWR, a grOWing num ber of bluebird activists, Upham , NO. bluebirds are getting much-needed at­ In 1983, the re were two NABS tention. meetings: the Western Regional Meeting in Portland, OR, in late June Here at the Si Iver Spri ng hub of ac­ and the Sixth Annual Meeting in tivities I am aware of our fr ont line ac­ Binghamton, NY, in early October. The tivists-the ones who put up and tas k of arranging a meeting of interna­ monitor the nestboxes and then share tional magnitude is a challenge which their exp eriences and results through was met admirably in both instances. Sieiie. Next come those who spread In Oregon, Angelina and Kermit the word : they give a bluebird talk, use Cromack, as well as Betty and Norton the NABS ' slide program, or get an arti­ Ferguson, guided members and friends c le printed in a newspaper or through a trul y enjoyable week end of magazine. programs and field trips. In Blnqham Until October of 1983, Dick Tuttle ton , NY, Sadie Dorber had assembled of Delaware, OH, as Cha irman of the programs and trips as d iverse as Education Committee, capably hand­ bluebi rds, pu ffi ns, eagl es, and stars. led the chore of maintaining, schedul­ Thet 's st retching our horizons, right? ing , and mailing the multiple copies of As all attendees know, these meetings the slide program. His met iculous are alw ays a special kind of thrill. We records att est to a devot ion to this mis­ can' t thank suffi ciently the volunteers sion wh ich is truly impressive. Reid who make them possible.

34 Slal!a, Winter 1984 On the day to day level at head­ is the work of artist John W. Tay lor, quarters, hard-working volunteers are who provided it to NABS rather than to at work. The dollars and cents are a nationwide conservation organiza­ taken care of by NABS Treasurer, tion which had expressed an interest in Chuck Dupree. Marjorie Mountjoy it. The verse in the card was donated by spearheads the " shipping department" Katharine Braun of Shingletown, CA. and sees to it that orders are fi lied . Michael L. Smith of Upper Marlboro, This year Marjorie also brought her MD, a leading nature photographer, guest Helen Freeman who viewed the donated a print of his ever popular whole process as entertainment! Mar­ " Mad Bluebird" for raffling at the An­ ty Chestem, Frances Ehlers,Lois nual Meeting. This is in addition to Carleton, and Glenda Pollock assist Mike's other generous treatment of Marjorie. Wally and Kat ie Knapp col­ NABS. Rob Tucker, a professional lect the mail and help me dea l with wildlife photographer from Bridge­ mountains of it. Come Sialia time, water, N.J , has donated black and white Florence Porter arrives with her con ­ glossy photographs of a male bluebird tingent and the buzz of activity at a nestbox entrance hole. These are heightens. Her helpers this year includ­ highly useful in press releases which ed Harriet Shapiro, Laurae Hay, Alice require black and white photos. Mcl ntyre , May Bradford, Mary Barker, Helen Tunstall, Lessie Garri son , and Another valuable donation of ser­ Marian Shephard. Harold and Mildred vices has provided NABS with a fine 30 Norwood , Beulah Moore, Elwood second video taped public service an­ Fisher, and Joe Ondrejko also help put nouncement. This took place through out Sia/ia. List mai ntenance is done by the work of NABS Board Member, Rich Edith and Sarah Haviland at home. Dolesh of Brandywine, MD, and Jon E. Boone, Founding Editor of Sialia, who NABS distributes educational obtained the help of Dr. Mike materials in a direct ma il campaign. DuMonceau at the University of Once again this year the students at Maryland's School of Communication. Wheatley Spec ial Center for the Han­ Sietie 's Editor, Jo Solem, is also dicapped stuffed and sealed indebted to volunteers. Art Editor thousands of envelopes for NABS. Richard L. Woodward produces almost These students are directed by their all of the covers for the journal as well teacher, Jack Spencer, who also as many additional drawings; Karen delivered all of these items directly to Blackburn brings botanical and hor­ the NABS office. Students at Cedar ticultural help to readers with her Lane School in Columbia, MD, also "Plantings" articles; and Marian packaged items for NABS mailings. McGrath assists with both writing and These students are directed by Mrs. editing when needed . Tedd Gutzke and Parlette and Mrs. Pecurokis. Ben Pinkowski review articles from Donations of a creative nature are professional journals dealing with often made to NABS. Fran Hanes of cavity nesting species. Within the last Utica, NY, donated illustrations of year Tedd , as well as Larry Zeleny and bluebirds in their nests singing," I love Paul Jung, have offered helpful corn­ New York " which were used on the pro­ ments on papers referred to them. gram for the annual meeting. Chung The cause of bluebi rd conserva­ Lee and his wife, Soon , run the Free tion would be nowhere near its present State Press in Silver Spring, MD, which level without the " labor of love " of so prints the envelopes and inserts for many volunteers. We always have Sialia and direct mailing materials. Mr. before us the prospect of " volunteer" Lee is also a talented artist and has Founder Larry Zeleny. He keeps us all ori ginated decoralions for vari ous on course and provides us with the NABS pieces. Everyone may now be rock of good sense in all we do. So let's familiar with our 1983·84 Christmas all keep up the good work! • card showing bluebirds perched on Mary D. Janetatos sumac in the snow. This love ly picture Executive Director

Volume 6, Number 1 35 BLUEBIRD EXPRESS

SIALIA welcomes the corr esp o nd enc e of I/S m em bersh ip £3llJeblrd Lxoiess 5hou ld beco me a fo rum fo r al i who are In teres ted In communica ti ng the ir 'd eas and actions co nc ern ing b lu eb ird censer­ »euon W e will e t temot 10 pub lish a "" d e range 0 / vie ws In a tes oons ioie m anner K eep yo u r le tters coming '

Dear Editor: It is a joy to know people are in­ Dear Editor: terested in saving the bluebirds. They It has not been easy but I was de­ are so pretty and a joy to wat ch . We put term ined to have bluebirds in my bird up our bluebird bo xes two years ago in houses. First, I had to keep constant San Augustine, Texas , at our farm and watch for House Sparrows. Then I we have raised two families in each of greased the post with a mi xtu re of three boxes for both years. We are put­ grease and red pepper to keep the ting up more boxes this year and hope predators out. I keep the birdbaths to keep bluebirds coming. We have at filled with fres h water every day and leas t six pair that are wintering in the my husband bought a few berry ­ wood s and we watch them come out bearing bushes that bluebirds like and and enjoy them so very much. planted t hem along the fence . Wel l, it was not all in vain because I Mrs. Jo hn Taylo r have quite a few bluebirds around my Nederland, Texas home. They nest twi ce a year and usually lay fou r or five eggs each nesting. So far , they have all fledged. In Dear Edit or: the afternoon I can sit on my back I am a great lover of bluebirds and porch and count seven or eight am so happy to say I ju st counted nine bluebirds at the birdbath. outside my home on the electrical Yes, it 's a lot of work, but it 's worth wires. Man y times I see them ali ght in it ! my yard and pick up ins ects. I live on a Virginia G. Durish farm 45 miles east of Kansas City, MO. PhoeniX, Maryland We have been promoting the care of bluebirds throu gh 4-H clu bs and the building of houses. I am so glad to Dear Editor: report that we are seeing many more I enj oye d a very successful bluebird birds in the last three years. yea r. I run 20 houses in the mountains Erma Specker west of Denver and this year I raised 30 Mayview , Missouri birds, about half Western and half Mount ain. This is an increase over last year of 10 young bluebirds. I " doubled" Dear Editor: nestboxes this year and reduced the Tried your idea of putting bo xes number of houses invaded by House within 30 feet and it wo rked. Swal lows Wrens. took tw o boxes and bluebirds used one. Kenneth W. Lane Denver, Colorado Lon nie E. Kuntz man Kalamazoo, Michigan Dear Editor: Jerry Newman of Ris ing Sun, MD , A pure white egg in a bluebird nest­ passed along a lett er he received from box ! Dimensions, shape and lack of an individual to whom he had given a markings led me to the bluebirders' bluebird box : "bible": Dr. Zeleny's The Bluebird. On " J ust a line to wish you a Merry page 16 he says , "The eggs of all three Christmas and a Happy New Year, and species are normally clear blue with no to thank you again for a few of my markings whatever, although an occa­ favorite things: sional bluebird lays pure white eggs." sixteen bluebirds sitting in a line on Ours did . There were five in the first the electrical line, clutch and fou r in the second . All my Burning Bush filled with yo ung were normal Eastern Bluebirds. bluebirds eating the bright red berries. Warning: You can't tell a bluebird Thanks again for all the pleasure the egg by its color alone! gift of the bluebird house has given me." Nancy D. Rowe Cockeysville, Maryland Anna M. Basham Rising Sun, Maryland

Dear Editor: Just received the Summer 1983 issue of Sialia and read with interest the article, " Huber House Sparrow Dear Editor : Trap. " While tending my bluebird trail in Thought some of the members might northern New Yor k Sta te tw o incidents be interested in the method whi ch I taught me somethi ng about the use, much easier and simpler than the hazard s that can be encountered along Huber Trap. When the sparrows have the trail. Ma ny of our bluebird trails started to build (and they build much necess itate clim bing over barb ed wire earlier than the bluebirds), I keep close fence to check bo xes. This year I cut watch on each of my boxes to dete ct myself on a rusty, barbed wire fence. any sparrow actiVity within the box . Sin ce I had not had a tetanous shot fo r After a sparrow has covered the bot­ over ten years , I dec ided that one tom of the box with nesting material, I wou ld be advisable. I wou ld sugge st pla ce a common mousetrap within the th at everyone who is routinely climbing box . When the sparrow enters with over barbed wire fences have a tetanus more nesting material and hits the shot for protection. They are usually mousetrap, you can be sure that it ex­ good for seven years. its much faster than it entered. My ex­ My second. mishap resu lted when I perience has been that one encounter was che cki ng what I thought was a with the mou setrap will end th at spar­ bird's nest in one of my boxes. As it row's interest in a particular box. turn ed out it was th e home of a flyi ng squ irrel. As I was feeli ng to see if th ere Seibert D. Meade were any eggs in th e nest, the squirrel Talbott, Tennessee bit my fin ger. Tha t started a long night. Do flying sq uirrels carry rab ies ? After Dear Seibert Meade: run nin g around to a medical center, Thanks for your pra ctical suggestion veteri narian and the emergency room f or discouraging Hou se Sparrow of a hospital, I was in formed that flying nesting. We're an xious to share a varie­ squirrels are not ca rriers; furthermore, ty of methods so that readers can there had been no rece nt outbreaks of choose what is best fo r the ir own situa­ rabies in the area. I relate this informa­ tion. tion so that other bluebi rders may Don Grussing also suggested using learn from my experience. mouse traps to discourage House Sparrows in " Con trolli ng the Male Mark Gret ch House Sparrow, " Sialia 5(2):58-59. Champlain, New York

Volume 6, Number 1 37 BLUEBIRD TALES Mary D. Janet atos

Travelin g to Bi nghamt on, NY, for the Sixth Annu al Meeting was an ex­ perience in watc hing summer change to autumn. Since I want ed to " season" by new blue Honda, Larry Zeleny and I were tra veling together. As we left Maryland in the morn ing, we saw th e green er y of summer everyw here. Southern Pennsylvania melted int o the moun tainou s eastern portion conta in­ ing Pennsylvania's highest city where I was born : Hazleton. We stopped in at the home of my Uncle Frank and Aunt Member of Arlingto n, VA; Joanne Margaret Dougherty. Uncle Frank, 96, a Solem, Sialia Editor and her husban d, World War I veteran, and Aunt Margaret, Bob, of Laurel, MD; Frances Ehlers, quite a bit his junior, will soon celebrate headquarters volu nteer of Clarksville, the ir golden wedd ing anni versa ry. Aft er MD; and Anne Sturm, Presid ent from a brief visit we co ntinued on our way in Barnesvill e, MD. The following came the afternoon enjoyi ng the autumn col­ from Alberta in a van: Bryan Shantz, ors. Board Member and his wife, Hazel; Fred When we arri ved in Binghamton we Schutz; Don Stiles, incomi ng Board quickly found the Ramada Inn. Soon Member and his wife, Daphne; and Chuck Dupree, NABS ' Treasurer and his Orest and Donna Litwin. Lillian Files, wi fe, Betty, arrived. Local contact and nominee for President, had arrived the Board Member, Sadie Dorber, showed earliest of all , driving from Tyngsboro, us the room at the Roberson Center MA. Martha Chestem, Vice-President, whi ch had been designated fo r our use. drove from Colu mbia, MD. We all had misgivings about its size. There had been much local publicity by The Upstate New York Bluebird Sadie and othe r New Yor k bluebirders Society was repr esented by Presid ent includi ng Marjorie and Frank Lyon of Fran Hanes, Larry and Gloria Flick, Delhi and Fran Hanes ancl the Upstate Marion and Carol Hoover, Ingeborg New York Bluebird Society. A crowd Klenke, Salley Maitland, John Rogers, was expected which wo uld rival the Alma Steinbacher, and Paul and San­ large group present in Nort h Carolina at dra Wilson . The re were many other our last annual meeti ng. Realizing this, New Yorkers inc luding Frank and Mar­ we arranged to move the meeti ng to the jorie Lyon of Delhi. Charle s and Ramada Inn. Dorothy Beyah were present fr om As th e bluebirders arrived the at­ Roch este r, NY,Where, as head of a cor­ mosphere became charged with excit e­ rectio nal inst itution and Cub Scout men t and anti cipation. The " regulars" leader, Charles has install ed several fr om afar arr ived: Jack and Ruby Finch blu ebird trails. of Ba ile y, NC; Laurance and Adelaide So me of t he arrivals were staying Sawyer in their blue van label ed at a nearb y state park in cabins or their " Bluebird Housing of Ringg old , GA"; ow n ca mpers incl uding Rich Dolesh, Junius and Beatrice Birchard of Hack­ Board Member and his wi fe, Patty, of ett stown, NJ; Meade and Mary Frances Brandywine, MD, and Reid Caldwell, Flinn of Alberta, VA, who rode with Ray Co-Chairma n of the Educat ion Com­ and Clareine Brinser of Richmond, VA; mitt ee with his wife, Terry, of Luca s, Joe Tait, incoming Correspondin g OH. Dick Tuttle, outgo ing Education Secr etar y and his w ife , Pearl, of Committee Chairman also stayed Beltsville ,MD; Joe Ondrejko, Board there.

38 Siali a, Winter 1984 The Friday night activity was a made a leisurely automobile trip all the tour of t he Kopernik Observatory way fro m Oklahoma. They also kin dly though rain prevented our looking at delivered a NABS aw ard to Reuel the sky through the large telescope. On Broyles of Springfield, MO, before they the return trip to the Inn, I switched got back home to Wagoner. Joan rides to talk w ith Tom Outerbridge, a Glascock topped al l others comi ng all new bluebirder from Bermuda. Tom the way from Corvallis, OR, to accept a hopes to start a bluebird conservation position on the Board of Directors. Two movement there with David Wingate's Mr. and Mrs. Robert Braleys attended, assistance. the uncle and aunt from Perth, Ontario, Saturday morning started earl y and the nephew and niece from Peter­ with Glenys Curran as "first mate" to borough, ONT . Meeting Chairwoman Sad ie Dorber. I had a nice chat with Mrs. Eleanor Ably aided by Roger Foy, Gladys ac­ Anderson, wife of NYS Sen ator Warren cepted registration fees and gave out Anderson, who ex pressed her hus­ name tags. A fine group came from band's regrets about his not being able Penn sylvani a: Jane and Lester Derr of to attend. She told me that she and her Lewisburg, Edward and Sally Dabson husband wanted to help the cause of of Lake Como, Mr. & Mrs. Ed Reish of bluebird conservation in NYS, but 1hey Montoursville, and Mr. & Mrs. John were a bit hesitant to involve tax Schaefer of Muncy. All of these in­ money. I assured her that much could dividuals wore attractive t-shirts be done by an elected official whi ch featuring stenciled bluebirds. Ralph K. did not cost one cen1 of ta xes, for in­ Bell of Clarksville, PA, was present to st ance, being present and speaking at rece ive a NABS award for his long in­ a proclamation of Bluebird Day, Week volvement with bluebirds in western or Month . This type of ceremony can Pennsylvania. James and Kathleen bring publ icity to the cause of bl uebi rd Bullard of Richmond, VA, attended con servation and costs onl y the time also. involved. I was glad to meet two As Shaw Lively convened the members whos e names had etched meeting, everyone settled down to the themselves on my memory: Thomas smorgasbord of bluebird topics. At the Passamonte of Mt. Morris, NY,and Vin· coffee break I sought out the cent Schneible of Dunesburg ,NY. They or iginators of a fine exhibit " Planting described th eir bluebird t rarl results as to Attract Bluebirds" done by the discouraging, but I urged each of them Federated Garden Clubs of NYS. Peg not to give up. Mar l' of Green , NY, began the project. At lunch time there was a wonder­ She received assistance from Margaret fu l surprise. Andre' Dion of St. Placide, Bryant and Annemarie Rainirez. Quebec, arrived and we had an en­ At other breaks and on elevators it joy able visit as he described the way was fun to meet new and veteran he becam e involved wit h bluebird s. He meeting gael's. Among those I saw had read Larry Zelen y's book, The were Madeline and Gerald Newman of Bluebird. FollOWing that, th e grain of Rising Sun ,MD; Edwin and Asinath an idea began to form. Before long a McKnight of Bethesda, MD; Betty Sam­ cha rmi ng fa ble wa s writt en poet ical ly son; a n d Doug LaVasseur o f in French. Soon Le Retour De l'Oiseeu Senecaville,OH. Bleau will also be available in English. Priscella and Ron Kingston of As the day drew to a cl ose Sun­ Spr ingfield, VA, attended wi th Calvin day'S field trips were planned. The n all Kingston, Ron's uncle from Ham pton, sai d " au revoi r," especially to Larry VA. Ron has installed blu ebird trails in Zeleny, th e beloved founder of NABS . Arkansas where his brother lives and Larry can we ll be pro ud of the ideas he on the gove rnment installation in has planted and the eff orts he has in­ Washington, DC, wh ere he works. He sp ired among those of us w ho sha re has had "inside the Capital Beltway" both his love for the bluebird and his bluebird nestings. determination to help it survive on Charlotte and Bill Jernigan had Planet Earth . •

Volume 6, Number 1 39 Messenger of Love

What would t he Bluebird do, and feel, If he could see the shepherds kneel Before th e bed of straw, the mang er, Wherein th e Babe, the Holy Stranger Was born that night so long ago , When heavenly hosts- all aglow With tender love and adm iration- Sang " Peace on Earth " to every nation?

I'm sure that Blue would swi ft ly fly , Then rest upon a rafter high, And warble sweetly, low, " Pure, Pure, The world is waiting, hoping, sure That all is well, now that you're here, Dear Little Babe. It's all so clear: I'l l bring your happiness and joy To the weary world, from Little Boy,

With Love, Blue, "

Katharine M. Braun e

ART CREDITS

Jon E. Boone: 2, 36 Suzanne Pennell Turner: 4, 38 Richard L. Woodward: 13, 14, 15, 19

40 Sialia, Winter, 1984

Founded in 1978, THE NORTH AMERICAN BLUEBIRD SOCIETY is an incorporated non-profit organization determined to increase the populations of the three species of bluebirds on this continent. Inasmuch as the populations of th ese birds have diminished due to the maladroit actions of human beings, as well as other natural disasters, the primary objective of the SOCIETY is to educate all who will listen about the importance of preserving these singular creatures in their native environment. Toward this end, the SOCIETY will work, within the bounds of effective conservation, to study those obstacles impeding bluebird recovery; to publish results of those studies; to promote ideas and actions which might reduce the effect of those obstacles; and to obtain a more complete knowledge about bluebird ecology, in the hope of learning more about the ecology of humankind.

Membership: Students (under 21) and Senior (over 60), $7.50; Regular, $10; Sustaining, $30; Supporting, $50: Contributing, $100; Corporate, $100; Don or, $250. Amounts over $5 are tax deductible.

Address: North American Bluebird Society Box 6295 SilverSpring, MD 20906-0295