LUEBIRD BJournal of the North American Bluebird Society Summer 2008 Vol. 30 No. 3 Summer 2008 1 Bluebird Table of Contents Photo credits (L to R): David Kinneer, Bet Zimmerman, Scott Gillihan, Jonathan Morgan Summer Message to our Affiliate Organizations -Brian Swanson ....................................................... 1 From the President - Jonathan Ridgeway ................................................................................................... 2 New Bluebird Managing Editor - Jonathan Ridgeway ................................................................................ 7 From the Managing Editor - Scott Gillihan ................................................................................................. 9 Introduction of the New NABS Chairman of Education - Jonathan Ridgeway ............................... 10 Why Petting Nestlings is Not a Good Idea - Bet Zimmerman ...........................................................12 Leona Leona (Sialia sialis) - Nina Fischesser .............................................................................................13 Battling Bluebirds - Barbara Dunn .............................................................................................................16 Donate Stock to NABS and Save Money on Your Taxes - Jonathan Ridgeway ................................ 18 Awards Presented at NABS 2008 in Kearney Nebraska - Greg Beavers ......................................... 20 Not Your Nestbox: Convincing Someone to Monitor - Bet Zimmerman .........................................24 Affiliates of North American Bluebird Society ......................................................................................27 Cover photo: Jonathan Morgan photographed this hungry pair of Tree Swallows in western Michigan. More of his excellent photos are displayed and available for purchase on his website, www.friendofthebirds.com. Summer Message to our Affiliate Organizations Bluebirders by their very nature tend to be connec- tional and collaborative. We like to stay in touch with one another, meet together, perhaps in cyber space, and exchange experiences and ideas. NABS endorses this joining movement. Many of our NABS members are also part of an Audubon society or a local bird club. NABS Bluebird itself has joined all of the Affiliates that have membership Bluebird/Sialia (ISSN 0890-7021) is opportunities (at least to the extent that we could find or published quarterly by North American receive an application). Bluebird Society, P.O. Box 43, Miamiville, Having made this gesture toward the Affiliates we OH 45147 would like to encourage a reciprocal move by the Affili- ates. One Affiliate has set a high standard by taking out a Printed by Colorado Printing Co. Life Membership so that $400 of the $500 membership fee Grand Junction, CO will go into our Zeleny Endowment Fund to be used for research. We would like more Affiliates to follow suit. Managing Editor: Scott Gillihan While on the subject of memberships, the half-price Subscription is included with membership offer for Affiliate members to join NABS is still in effect. in NABS. Write for information about bulk Any members of your affiliate who do not already belong quantities. Make checks and money orders to NABS can go to www.nabluebirdsociety.org/aplus. payable to NABS in U.S. funds. There they will find a membership form just for Affiliate members. This offer also applies to renewals for those of Issues are dated Spring, Summer, Fall, and you who are reading this periodical. Winter and appear approximately on the NABS is always sad to hear that an Affiliate has had 15th day of January, April, July, and October. to disband for lack of members or leadership. Unfortu- The deadline for submission of materials is nately that is the case with the Georgia Affiliate. Founded three months prior to the publication date. in 1992, the dedicated officers and members of Bluebirds Letters to the editor and articles in this Over Georgia have seen bluebirds flourish throughout publication express the opinions and/or the state. A bird that was once struggling to hold on is positions of the authors. Letters may be now on solid ground. edited for length and content. Published At the same time we said goodbye to Georgia, we articles do not necessariy represent the welcomed a new Affiliate in Wisconsin: the Aldo Leopold opinions and positions of the Officers, Audubon Society, headquartered in Stevens City, joined Directors, or other representatives of NABS. our ranks. They received the Lawrence Zeleny Bluebird Conservation Award at our recent annual meeting in General questions may be addressed to: Kearney, Nebraska. [email protected] Our new Bluebird editor, Scott Gillihan is anxious to or call 812-988-1876 during office hours gather articles from around the states and provinces for (12-3 pm EST Mon-Fri). our newsletter. If you have something that you think The North American Bluebird Society is a others would be interested in reading and seeing, please non-profit education, conservation and research contact Scott at [email protected]. Scott will contact organization that promotes the recovery of the original authors for permission to use their material. bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting bird As you read this, I hope that you are having a success- species in North America. ful nesting season and that all your nestlings fledge. www.nabluebirdsociety.org Brian Swanson NABS Vice President for Affiliate Relations Summer 2008 1 Bluebird From the President Jonathan Ridgeway reetings of peace. During the third de- first two decades NABS was essentially an cade after Dr. Zeleny and his associates all-volunteer operation. Then membership grew Gestablished the North American Bluebird large enough that people got the idea that we Society, the organization experienced a progres- could pay people to do some of the work. It sive decline but there were still some bright and could have worked out well if they were paying shining stars and as a result, NABS was able to for products and services delivered but instead rise from the ashes as a Phoenix. they hired staff and with staff comes overhead; time-keeping, supervision and performance Titus Maccius Plautus, writer of Roman com- evaluation, payroll management, benefits, more edies, circa 254-184 BCE, wrote in his play named complex taxes and bookkeeping, office space and Epidicus,“Nothing is there more friendly to a facilities management, to name but a few areas. man than a friend in need.” In NABS’s time of It is very expensive to hire people, give them a need, at the moment when everything was fall- mission statement and expect them to act with ing apart, Bernie Daniel was a friend in deed. He unlimited latitude for independent judgment and stepped forward and accepted the job of NABS’s initiative. Volunteers work without pay and the President, regardless of any consideration of contribution of their efforts is their compensation the challenges or the fact that it was so much in in its own right. A consequence of having a staff conflict with his personal career obligations, and and facility is the constant drain on cash flow he did that job well. And at the same time he ac- regardless of productivity. Money steadily flows cepted the job of the editor of the NABS journal, out just as fast even when no benefit comes in. Bluebird, and performed yeoman service in that capacity for a much longer duration. More than As we enter into our fourth decade, we begin a year ago he requested relief from that duty but with a new business model. We have no staff but it was not until now that it was forthcoming. I we do not hesitate to pay for products, goods, encourage you to read elsewhere in this edition and services. We will pay our new Managing Edi- my introduction of NABS’s new Bluebird Manag- tor for production of our journal, not for coming ing Editor, but here I simply wish to express my to work for some number of hours. eternal gratitude to my good friend and mentor for all he has done for NABS up to this time and Our NABS economy is divided into two funds, for what I know he will continue to do. our General Fund which accounts for the bulk of our activities, all of our ongoing operations In one issue after the other I have written to you (the segment which had a July 2006 balance about NABS’s challenges. Now enough time of $8,200 that inspired the forecast that NABS has passed, enough dragons have been slain would be bankrupt before year’s end); and our and enough new bridges have been built that Zeleny Endowment Fund which was established it is clearly the dawning of NABS’s new era of with an initial $5,000, in memory of our founder success. In my message this time I want to tell after he died on May 27, 1995 at the age of 91. It you about some of the great accomplishments was intended to be a repository for major dona- we have amassed and the reasons we can look tions with a plan that when its balance exceeded at what is laid out before us with a heightened $100,000, the proceeds in excess of that threshold sense of optimism. Economic issues may not have could be directed toward educational and re- been our worst concern but they certainly over- search grants. The endowment grew little by little shadowed everything else so that is where I will until the Board voted to contribute $16,000 from begin. the General Fund in October 2002. By July 2006 its balance had grown to $63,452. Some obvi- As best as I can understand it, during our ous indications of the financial transformation