WB_Spring_2009

Spring 2009Vol. 24, No. 1

Newsletter of the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Inc.

Wisconsin

Bluebird

Also inside this issue: Trails of Excellence - 2 • Monitor’s List - 3 • PVC Box Effectiveness? - 5 • Appreciation Certificate - 6 • Black Flies: New Findings - 7 • Looking Back - 8 • Downy WP for Hire - 9 • Bluebirds Challenge

Winter - 10 • Bluebird B&B? - 11 • BPCA Contributes - 12 • BRAW County Coordinators - 13 • Attracting Purple Martins - 14 • BRAW Online - 16 • NABS Style Plan - 17 • Monitor Forms - 19-22 • Workshops - 23

Pat

Rea

dy

BRAW is an affiliate member of the North American Bluebird Society (NABS), founded by Lawrence Zeleny

Bluebird Nestbox Building Blitz!see page 12

Zach Brocken working the assembly line at the ALAS nestbox blitz.

Wisconsin Bluebird 2 Spring 2009

Trails of Excellence and Trails of Honor for BRAW Monitors: 2008 by Kent Hall

For the third year in a row I am recognizing selected trails for their

high productions. This year, for the first time, I am recognizing Trails of Excellence (at or above the statewide average of 2.9 fledglings per box)in addition to Trails of Honor (2.0-2.89 fledglings/box). To be eligible for these lists, you must be monitoring at least 10 nest boxes per season. A major factor in making one of these lists is your location in the state. These lists are dominated by trailslocated in the central & western part of the state where there are higher populations of bluebirds and reducedpopulations of Tree Swallows. Those trails located in southeast WI, along Lake Michigan and in the northern third of the state which is heavily wooded, are limited by low popula-tions of bluebirds and high popula-tions of Tree Swallows. That handicap represents 1-2 fledglings per box, on the average. But the trails of Ed Kowalski, Roy & Charlotte Lukes, Melissa Bruder, Jean-Pierre & Ellen Lafouge & Joanne DeVetter, among others, show thateven in these geographic areas, select-ing proper habitat and using the good management practices developed by BRAW, can overcome the limita-tions of geography. It is my contention that with good weather (lacking in the 2008 season), any trail in the state can reach 2.0bluebirds fledged/nest box by using the management practices promoted by BRAW. I would hope that each BRAW monitor would set their sites on putting up at least 10 nest boxes which reach this fledgling rate of 2.0/box. That is a conservation goal that all who wish to can achieve. Anyone who finds their name(s) left off of these lists or mis-spelled, should contact me and the error will be corrected in the summer Wisconsin Bluebird.

Trails of Excellence: 88 Total7.08: Patricia Koblenz6.08: Craig & Laurie Bartholomew5.94: Bonnie Waack5.88: Ed Kowalski5.74: John Wiggert5.63: Bill & Jill Ziehr5.50: Bill Hallam5.45: Lowell Peterson5.44: Gail Janz5.44: Dick & Karen Olsen5.43: Bill Balmer5.36: Nancy Crawford5.25: Richard & Candice Knutson5.23: Neah Lohn (Mirror Lake 4-H

Club)5.17: Joe Schultz5.00: Don Fabisiak5.00: Tim Knudson4.94: Kent Stephan4.84: Fred & Mary Craig4.84: Pat & Toni Wanserski4.80: Doug Aziz & Bill Hirt4.75: Dawson Verdel4.74: David & Patti Becker4.73: Jerry Schoen4.72: Iler Anderson4.63: Jan Brady4.61: Helen Pugh4.60: Kathie Mitchell4.58: Roy & Charlotte Lukes4.55: Amanda Marco4.54: Leif Marking4.54: Carol Pestile & Lloyd Hoff4.53: Maureen & Zach Brocken4.44: Lane Poulin4.44: Brad & Jean Sherman4.42: Larry Casper4.42: Sue Hall & Tricia Schaufenbuel4.42: Mike Lyons4.42: Bruce & Ruth Marion4.39: Jim & Barb Gifford4.33: Ginny Rieves4.30: Gail Filzer4.27: Brenda Spencer4.25: Myron Byers4.25: Nicole Hayes4.24: Kent Hall 4.24: Ruthann Meiers4.23: Gary & Connie Stout4.20: Jim & Dorothy Beix4.15: Rosie Gotsch4.15: Jim & Darlene Jakusz4.12: Mike Fort4.10: Leif Tolokken4.05: James Barth4.02: Mike & Ellen Helgren4.00: Melissa Bruder4.00: Bill Clendenning & Shirley

Klapperich

4.00: Gregory Harmon3.90: Jeri Lawrenz3.84: Jean-Pierre & Ellen Lafouge3.81: Harry & Helen Caulum3.69: Jan Ronchetto3.65: Larry & Reba Vitcenda3.63: Dylan & Sandy Huber3.54: Tamela Frey3.53: John Schubring3.50: Joanne DeVetter & Terri Sprout3.47: Don Herrick3.45: Dick Marco3.42: Don Pritzl3.40: Ruth Schoenwetter3.38: Bev Deininger3.38: Steph Haka3.36: Ann E.S. Wick3.34: Bob Tamm3.29: Gordon Weber3.26: Debbie Anderson3.25: Keith & Karen Solimar3.07: Morgan Jostad3.07: Joan Schrinner3.06: Vern & Emilie Weeks3.05: Dave Farris & Marilyn Slezak3.00: Pat Handrick3.00: Kristine Vaughn2.93: Dale & Doris Moody2.92: Dave Fonger2.90: Mike Padrutt2.90: Frank Zuern

Trails of Honor: 52 Total2.89: Richard & Colleen O’Brien2.88: Don & Karen Haralson2.86: Rodger Meyer2.85: Pat Ready2.80: Bill & Jeanie Fruin2.80: Ben Teich2.79: Mary Roen2.78: Gerald Gerndt2.75: Greg Dahl2.75: Jan Landowski2.75: David Thiel2.72: Charlie Lautermilch2.71: Bob Fox2.70: Larry Dickerson2.70: Ed Mathwig2.69: Mike Moran2.68: Storme Nelson (Hunt Hill

Audubon)2.65: Earl Running2.64: Eric & Pat Wickstrom2.63: Ray Glew/Donald Park2.60: Ken & Signe Onsrud2.50: Rick & Carol Becker2.50: Curt & Arlys Caslovka2.48: Brian Doverspike2.46: David & Pauline Pray2.44: Helen Pugh


2.42: Dave Farris2.40: Nick Anderson2.40: Memuna Kahn & Betty Berens2.37: Claire Romanak2.35: David Tuch2.33: Steve Petznick (Mosquito Hill

Nature Ctr.)2.31: Tom Michelson2.29: Heidi Hughes2.28: Keith Stoffel2.26: Tom & Sue Beckett, Greenwood

Hills CC2.25: Janet Kuyoth & Theresa

Cartwright2.23: Linda Parrish2.18: Terri Welisek2.13: Sylvia Marek2.13: David & Kelly Marwitz2.09: Michael Johnson2.08: Sally Martin2.08: Charles & Chris Wellington2.07: Mary Bratz2.03: Karl & Jean Barkow2.03: Kip Jacobs2.00: Kathy Dreikosen2.00: Carol McDaniel2.00: Anne Moretti & Ellen Krzyston2.00: Mary Strasser & Ray Opitz2.00: Richard & Shelley Volk

NAME COUNTY BOX NUMBER Fred & Mary Craig LaCrosse 207 Kent Hall Portage & Wood 174 Leif Marking LaCrosse 174 Ann Wick Dane 173 John Zeinert Winnebago 152 Dave Fonger LaCrosse 137

Bob Fox Waushara 112

Iler Anderson Burnett 108

Year % Box Occupany Total BRAW Total BRAW

By Bluebirds Reports Monitors

2008 56% 323 499

2007 50% 267 409

2006 44% 195 245

BRAW Monitor’s List for the 2008 Season, by County by Kent Hall In the 2008 season, we had a drop in total numbers of bluebirds produced, a consequence of weather and loss of “large trail” monitors reporting from the 2007 season. It is my contention that we will rebound from the sup-pression of weather on production, but how about our participation by monitors?. Table 1 shows that we are doing quite well as an organization from the standpoint of total reports and total monitors participating in our conservation efforts. Although total production numbers for bluebirds was down this season, trends for the future are outstand-ing. During the two years OTS has functioned, nest box occupancy has set a record each year, a total gain of 6%/year = 12%. These numbers bode well for production of bluebirds. It follows that the higher the percentage

of nest boxes occupied by bluebirds, the higher the production potential is. Of course, that potential can only be realized under favorable weather conditions. The increase in percent-age occupancy is a reflection of BRAW monitors implementing better man-agement practices on their trails. Even more striking is the number of reports I have received. Since taking over from Joe O’Halloran, I have seen a +65.6% in reports and a +103% in total monitors. For 2007 and 2008 the number of monitors from each report has averaged 1.53 and 1.54, respec-tively, up from 1.26 in 2006. We are not only poised to dramati-cally improve our production levels (good weather permitting), we are involving a greater and greater num-ber of monitors on our trails. These are signs that BRAW monitors should be proud of and which we can con-tinue in the future. A total of 65 of 72 counties had monitoring reports last season, one more than last year. Some counties

THE “100 CLUB”: Trails with extraordinary commitment by Kent Hall Each nest box monitored requires a specific time commitment from the moni-tor. Below are listed the reports that involved the monitoring of 100 or more nest boxes on the part of the respective monitors for the 2008 season. These efforts reflect an extraordinary time commitment and effort to support the BRAW goals of bluebird conservation.

Table 1. Improvement in nest box occupancy, numbers of BRAW reports and total monitors since Operation Top State (OTS) was implemented.

2009 BRAW Info PackBRAW board members recently revised and reprinted the BRAW Info Pack with updated information and more photos and box plans. To get a copy send a request with $5.00 to cover cost to Sue Schultz, Member-ship Chair, 5221 Cheryl’s Dr., Plover, WI 54467 (Free with new member-ships) Downloaded PDF file, free at www.braw.org.


involved data collection by an excep-tional number of monitors. These included: Dane: 64; Door: 55; Portage: 36; LaCrosse: 26; Marathon: 21; Kenosha: 19; Waukesha: 19; Sauk: 18; Columbia: 13; Waupaca: 13; Racine: 12; Washington: 12; Ozaukee: 11; Wood: 11. For those who find mistakes in the list of BRAW monitors below, please contact me and corrections will be placed in the Summer Issue of the Wisconsin Bluebird.

A dams(5): Myron Byers, Ken & Rosie Gotsch, Marvin Phillippi & David Tuttle

Ashland(2): Rich & Carol BakerBarron: None; Bayfield: NoneB rown(4): Joanne DeVetter, John

Loehlein, Terri Sprout & Terri Welisek

B uffalo(3): Heidi Heitman, Heidi Hughes & Leif Tolokken

B urnett(2): Iler Anderson & Mary Griesbach

Calumet(1): Terri WelisekC hippewa(7): Debbie Anderson,

Bill Barnes, Mary Jo Fleming, Earl Running, Elmer Sharp and Vern & Emilie Weeks

C lark(6): Dave Farris, Don & Karen Haralson, Dennis & Dorothy Owens & Marilyn Slezak

C olumbia(13 ): Laurie Armstrong, Judi Benade, Brian Doverspike, Bill Groogan, Nicole Hayes, Donald & Carmen Jackson, Richard & Nicole Knutson, Mark & Sue Martin, Brand Smith & Rory Thomas

C rawford(4): Steve Anderson, Lane Poulin and Larry & Reba Vitcenda

D ane(64 ): Karen Bate, Terri Bleck, Warren Burger, Curt and Arlys Caslavka, Doria Dahl, Larry Dickerson, Jim Fitzpatrick, Rita Garczynski, Steve & Aimee Gauger, Ray Glew, Susan Gundlach, Chris Gutzmer, Pat Handrick, Don & Barbara Hartman. Craig & Pam Heilman, Pat Hitchcock, Mark Horn, Leslie Hutchins, Bob & Marianne Jenson, Ben Johnson, Carolyn Johnson, Mary Lalley, Jeri Lawrenz, Susan Ludington, Tom & Ann Mader, Sylvia Marek, Peg Michel, Michael & Laurie Padrutt, Mark Pepoy, Sandra Person, Marilyn Peters, Nolan Pope, Pat Ready, Jeremy Roe, Brian & Angie Roberts,

Phil Schleicher, Don Schmidt, Erin Schneider, Ruth Schoenwetter, Paul Scott, Nancy Seim, Jon Shaw, Jenny Sievert, Jim Stick¸ Al & Barb Stock, Ann Stratton, Tom Umhoefer, Linda Van Brocklin, Gail Vanharen, Kristine Vaughn, Gloria Welniak, Ann E.S. Wick, Deb Wirth, Carole Ziglin & Carol Zwickey.

D odge(8): Jack Bartholmai, Barbara Clark, Debra & Kathleen Finnessy, Diane Haberman, Mike Helgren, Joan Liechty, & Mike Lyons.

D oor(55): Nick & Gail Anderson, Dan & Marji Andrae, Jim & Pat Arnold, George Bagnall, Susan Basten, Mark Bogenschutz, Laurie Buske, Victoria Cerinich, Beth Chafy-Hon, Gary Chaudoir, Margaret Cooney, Terrie Cooper, Ray Cordon, Ray Di lulio, Rich Dirks, George Fiedler, Chris Friese, Lois Hall, Marilyn Hansotia, Mark Holey, Lynn Huber, Ray Kaminski, Tom Kile, Ron Klimaitis, Karl & Lucy Klug, Jerry Konrad, Conrad Kretzmann, Roy & Char Lukes, Wendy Lukes, Paul Lysne, Neil McCarty, Tom Michelsen, Greg Mox, Signe Onsrud, Ray Osinski, Shirley Rosenquist, Jim & Mary Rutter, Mike Schneider, Carl Scholz, Joyce Schranz, Bernie Shumway, Lynn Taylor, Ben Teich, Bob & Barbara Tidball, Dave & Barbara Tuch, Jane Weis & Eric Wickstrom.

Douglas(1): Charles BergstenDunn(3): Pam Campbell & Dale & Elinor HansonEau Claire(6): Bill & Hugh Barnes, Georgia Desiree Kurfman, Dick Marko & Richard & Shelley VolkFlorence(1) Nancy CrawfordF ond du Lac(5): Betty Berens, Barbara

Clark, Memuna Kahn, Chuck Oehmcke & Larry Vine

Forest: NoneGrant(1): Michael PadruttG reen(9): Linda Alger, Rod & Ann

Courtier, Bev Deininger, Kathy Dreikosen, Chuck & Vicki Sasso and Charles & Chris

WellingtonG reen Lake(3): Jan Londowski and

David & Kelly MarwitzI owa(7): Judy Lovass, Richard & Colleen O’Brien, Dale & Doris Moody, Helen Pugh & Pat Ready

Iron(1): Janice BorthJ ackson(5): Larry Casper, Darrel Eberhardt, Delores Iliff, Darlene

Neisner & Joan SchrinnerJ efferson(6): Mike & Lori Bachler, Tamela Frey, John & Patricia Heiden & Jerry Schoen

Juneau(1): Pat KoblenzK enosha(19): Marilyn Anderson, John

Dixon, Craig Fenters, Gerry Goff, Kris Halker, John Krerowicz, Tom Lajiness, Joyce Levandowski, Les & Edna Lowe, John Meyer, Corey Nelson, Paula Nolte, Al & Melody Orban, Ray Polenik, Stan Rosensteil, Ellie Smith & John Worrell

Kewaunee(1): Don PritzlL aCrosse(26): Dan Bruemmer, Harry

& Ellen Callum, Fred & Mary Craig, Verdal Dawson, Joyce Ebert, Gail Filzin, Dave Fonger, Brad Foss, Jerry Guntz, Lloyd Hoff, Morgan Jostad, Tim Knudson, Dick & Amanda Marko, Leif Marking, Ron Page, Carol Pestile, Jean Ruhser, Kent Stephan, Mary Strasser, Marie Tabor, Charles Ustby, John Wetzel & John Wiggert

L aFayette(3): James Barth, Jim Hess & Carol McDaniel

L anglade(3): Norm & Liz Dickman & Clyde Park

Lincoln(1): Jim BlankenheimM anitowoc(2): Charlie Geiger &

Duane ZabelM arathon(21): Doug Aziz, Tom & Sue

Beckett, Theresa Cartwright, Carl & Barbara Drake, Chuck & Cathy Garvey, Don & Karen Haralson, Bill Hirt, Leander Krieg, Janet Kuyoth, Pat & Kay Meyer, Thomas Peterson, Claire Romanak, Keith & Jenneane Smith, Jim Sterzinger & Jolie Wood

M arinette(4): Ed Kowalski, Bill & Mary Mahoney & Frank Zuern

Marquette: NoneMenominee: NoneM ilwaukee(2): Judy Diliberti & Kip

JacobsM onroe(8): Bill Balmer, Craig &

Laurie Bartholomew, Mike Helgren, Charlie Lautermilch, Kathie Mitchell, Linda Parrish & Gordon Weber

O conto(9): Gene Birr, Don & Carol Butrymowicz, Derek Fraley/Gretzinger, Gerald Gerndt, Tim Girbert, Joe Renkas, Nicole Shutt & Robert Vladik

O neida(4): Ray & Bev Manthey & Keith & Jenneane Smith

O utagamie(5): Steve Beuchel, Mike O’Connell, Steve Schleitwiler, Daniel


Schroeder & Todd WardO zaukee(11): Richard Albert, Kathy

Cullen, Ted David, Mark Feider, Kristin Gies, Mary Holleback, Jean-Pierre & Ellen Lafouge, Jim Schoenike, Barry Thompson & Renate Witt

Pepin(1): Heidi HughesP ierce(4): Jim & Dorothy Beix, Lisa

Bigaouette & Carol ForsythePolk(2): Julie Fox & Rodger MeyerP ortage(36): Doug Aziz, David & Patti

Becker, Maureen & Zach Brocken, Mary Bratz, Greg Dahl, Deanna Deising, Don Fabisiak, Caleb Feidt, Jim & Barb Gifford, Stephanie Haka, Kent & Sue Hall, Bill Hirt, Dylan & Sandy Huber, Jim & Darlene Jakusz, Gail Janz, Bob & Louise Juracka, Dick & Karen Olsen, David & Pauline Pray, Jan Ronchetto, Don & Patti Sandman, Tricia Schaufenbuel, Joe Schultz, Pat & Toni Wanserski, Bill & Jill Ziehr

Price: NoneR acine(12): Rick Fare, Don & Nancy

Jobe, Keith Kennedy, Jack & Janet LeSeur, Juanita Patterson, Helen Pugh, John Raymond, Greg & Ann Shea & Bob Tamm

Richland(1): Paul Klawiter

R ock(9): Jack Freeman, John Freeman, Bill & Jeanie Fruin, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Holz, Michael Johnson, Pat Ready & Jerry Schoen

Rusk(3): Don Bartig & Don & Karen HaralsonS auk(18): Jane Furchgott, Carrie, Dale,

Andrew, Chloe & Sophia Johnson, Barb & Mark Keding, Neah Lohr, Bruce & Ruth Marion, Katie, Chris & Patrick Neuguth, Ted, Jan & T.J. McGinnis & John Schubring

Sawyer(1): Diane ChambersS hawano(3): Karl & Jean Barkow &

Ruthann MeiersS heboygan(2): Andy Holschbach &

Virginia RiceS t. Croix(5): Lowell Peterson, Keith &

Karen Solimar, Mary Roen & Debby Walters

T aylor(3): Susanne Adams & Don & Karen Haralson

T rempealeau(5): Jan Brady, Bill & Julie Hallam, Dick Phillips & Leif Tolokken

Vernon: NoneVilas(1): Bob ButzerW alworth(6): Martin & Hillary Ford,

Thomas Ganfield, Mariette Nowak, Jerry Schoen & Jane Wiemerslage

W ashburn(7): Jillian Bjorklund,

Amber Mealman, Cody Meyers, Nikki Nelson, Storme Nelson, Jessica Peterson & Bailey Woodruff

W ashington(12): Jean Hamilton, Sr. Janet Heder, Kip Jacobs, Dennis Loeffler, Art Melius, Donald Metzger, Judy Piaro, Tom Schaefer, Lora Shreiber and Tim, Carla & Clayton Stoffel

W aukesha(19): Harry Auchter, Melissa Bruder, Mike Fort, Gerald Gerndt, Greg Harmon, John & Pat Heiden, Donald Herrick, Shari Kastner, Anne Knoff, Ellen Krzyston, Glee Leet, Anne Moretti, Dan Savin, Jerry Schoen, Bob Tamm, Paul & Ilene Kronschnabel & Mel Schultz

W aupaca(13): Robert & Deb Benada, Fred Heinnitz, Steve Petznick, Ed Mathwig, Ginny Rieves, Daniel Schultz, Brad & Jean Sherman, Bill & Gloria Smith, Susan Smith & Chuck Stringer

Waushara(2): Bob Fox & Sally MartinW innebago(4): Gerald Breuer, Steve

Beuchel, Kay Lettau & John ZeinertW ood(11): Bill Clendenning, Kent

Hall, Shirley Klapperich, Don & Karen Haralson, Mike Moran, Brenda Spencer, Gary & Connie Stout, David Thiel & Bonnie Waack.

SPECIES PVC STANDARD AUDUBON TOTAL

HOSP CONTROL w/o HOSP’s ALAS TRAIL

(22 Boxes) (47 Boxes) (894 Boxes) (963 Boxes)

EABL 1.18 1.96 4.84 4.59

TRES 1.45 2.16 1.03 1.05

EABL + 2.63 4.12 5.87 5.64

TRES

Table 1. Prevention of House Sparrow Occupancy by Gary Gaard PVC Boxes: 2008 Season (Birds produced per box).

(continued on page 6)

Effectiveness of the PVC Nest Box for Producing BluebirdsBy Kent Hall In the 2006 bluebird nesting season, Gary Gaard built PVC nest boxes (64) that he put in areas of high House Sparrow (HOSP) concentration. He was able to fledge 3.75 bluebirds/nest box (reported in WI Bluebird, Vol. 22, #4, Pg. 10 & 11; additional report

in WB, Vol. 21, #4, Pg. 10 & 11) and claimed that these boxes could be used to prevent HOSP occupancy and fledge relatively high numbers of Eastern Bluebirds (EABL). At the 2007 BRAW Annual State Convention, Gary presented his results. I asked him to prepare a total of 25 of these nest boxes for me to test on the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society’s Bluebird Trail for the 2008 season. Table 1 reports the data collected by Audubon monitors in the 2008 season. A total of 22 of the 25 PVC nest boxes

were used in this experiment. They were substituted for wooden boxes immediately after they were occupied by HOSP’s. Data from 47 other nest boxes with HOSP occupancy were also collected. The technique used allowed HOSP hens to lay and start incubat-ing their eggs—only then were nests & eggs destroyed. This technique was repeated when needed.Here are the results of our experiments:

PVC nest boxes were 100% effec-1) tive in preventing HOSP occupan-cy. NO PVC nest box had any sign of HOSP nest building after replac-ing the wooden nest boxes.PVC boxes were poor produc-2) ers of EABL’s: 66% less than our Standard HOSP control system and 289% less than the number produced on the Audubon Trail as a wholePVC boxes were better producers 3) of Tree Swallows (TRES’s) then EABL’s (+23%), more than double the difference (10%) with our Standard HOSP control system.


Neither PVC boxes nor our 4) Standard HOSP control system resulted in methods that were effec-tive in producing large numbers of bluebirds.

Other studies I have conducted have shown that PVC houses are more attrac-tive to TRES’s than EABL’s (EABL Trail at Hunt Hill Audubon) and actually depress bluebird production compared to wooden nest boxes (Ft. McCoy Trail in 2007). At Hunt Hill Audubon (Washburn Co.), I did a retrospective nest analysis of about 40 nest boxes at the end of the 2006 season. The 28 PVC boxes were Gilbertson models that were thinner walled than the Gaard boxes. But absolutely NO EABL’s nested in them. Of the 12 Peterson boxes placed in decent habitat, 7 had EABL’s nest in them (the other five had TRES nest attempts). It was obvious that wooden boxes were more appealing to EABL’s than thin-walled, Gilbertson PVC boxes. At Ft. McCoy (Monroe Co.), we did an experiment with wooden vs. PVC nest boxes in the 2007 season. We put up a total of 120 nest boxes. They were put out in a trail of 4 wooden, NABS-Style, followed by one 6” diameter, thick-walled PVC nest box (96 wooden vs. 24 PVC). For that season, the wooden boxes produced an average of 6 fledglings per box compared to the 5 fledglings/box for the PVC nest boxes. In summary, I can say with confidence that the Gary Gaard house stops HOSP nesting, but depresses EABL production and enhances TRES production. This result is consistent with information collected at Hunt Hill Audubon and Ft. McCoy. At this time I do recommend wooden nest boxes (NABS-Style preferred) over the use of PVC nest boxes to increase bluebird production. When it comes to preventing EABL nesting depression by HOSP’s, the Audubon Control system has not worked well. At this time, the best course of action is to put nest boxes away from House Sparrow habitat and/or trap and remove them from the habitat. For the 2009 season, we are going to try nest box trapping for those sites that appear attractive to HOSP’s.

(continued from page 5)

Show Your AppreciationEllen Lafouge, BRAW Community Relations

“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.” ~ Jacques Maritain

Who doesn’t appreciate being ap-preciated? Golf courses and parks are becoming integral to BRAW’s conservation efforts by willingly and enthusiastically making their often prime habitat available for bluebird trails. If you have been permitted to establish a bluebird trail at a golf course, cemetery or park, whether private, city, county or state, consider a simple and easy way to thank those who have made it possible. Present them with a certificate of recognition and appreciation for their shared partnership with BRAW and support

for Wisconsin bluebird conservation. You can purchase embossed parch-ment certificate paper at office sup-ply stores, and it’s easy to set up and print a customized certificate using a basic word processing program such as MS Word. There are ready-made frames specifically sized for certificates, called document frames. A small investment in materials and time looks great and goes a long way when presented to your golf course or park supervisor. Not only are you acknowledging and recognizing their bluebird conservation partnership, but your gift of appreciation is appre-ciated in return.

I can provide you with a BRAW custom certificate of appreciation suitable for presentation. Send the information to me at [email protected]. I will print a certificate and send it to you. Then simply sign, frame and present.

Mee-Kwon Park Golf Course where Ellen Lafouge has her very successful bluebird trail.


Non-vented Boxes and Black Flies: New Findings by Kent Hall It is known that black flies kill a wide range of birds from domestic turkeys & chickens to wild birds (including bluebird chicks) [http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/bfly.htm]. These insects breed and develop in slow moving water, not lakes, ponds or marshes. Outbreaks of these flies often occur in heavy rainfall extremes, even when streams are only seasonal. After hatching, adult females (not males) seek blood meals. They can fly up to 10 miles from their hatching sites for these blood meals. They locate prey in the same way as mosquitoes, by detecting the CO2 produced by birds or mammals. The blood meal is taken by “cutting mouthparts” that leave painful wounds. If you lose entire broods of chicks, check carefully on the featherless parts of the body where circular bite marks are readily observed (Pg. 4, WB, Vol. 20, #2). In previous articles in WI Bluebird (WB), Gary Gaard has indicated that closing vents in nest boxes will prevent occupation by black flies and will therefore prevent bluebird chick deaths. In the Vol. 20, #2 Issue of the WB (Pg. 4 & 5) he stated: “The black fly will enter a vented nest box or a loosely constructed nest box but will not enter nest boxes that do not have ventilation holes”. My article, on the other hand, presents data that documents the death of bluebird chicks in unvented boxes and refutes the “Gaardian black fly hypothesis”. Black flies hatch out in June and affect only broods that develop after these hatches (usually 2nd & 3rd broods). In the previous 6 years on the Audubon Trail (2033 Nest Box Years), there were no known deaths by black flies. In June of 2008, many areas of Wisconsin suffered torrential rains.

Most nest boxes on the Audubon trail that I coordinate are located in central Wisconsin where rainfall was less extensive than in other areas of the state. The exception, however, was our sub-trail at Ft. McCoy. Rainfall was exceptionally heavy there in June. Our Ft. McCoy sub-trail monitors,

Craig & Laurie Bartholomew (see photo), started reporting loss of large numbers of chicks in early July and these losses continued until early August. There was a total loss of 80 chicks on their 99 nest box trail, unprecedented for the Audubon trail, and extremely stressful as a monitoring experience. It is hoped that this article will make such experiences more understandable and, hopefully, less traumatic to any others that might experience such events. I suggested to the Bartholomews that they start collecting samples and send them to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison. They collected specimens and solicited the help of David J. Beckman, Wildlife Program Manager, at Ft. McCoy, who also helped collect specimens and arranged for their transport to the USGS Center. On Sept. 6, Dr. Anne E. Ballman, DVM, Ph.D., Wildlife Disease Specialist with the USGS Center, sent an analysis of the findings of the Center. Several of the chicks that

were sent were too badly decomposed to analyze but for those that could be analyzed, no deaths were attributed to West Nile virus, pesticides or bacterial & fungi infections. The only cause of death found was due to black flies (both body lacerations and adults located in ear canals were confirmed). For the past several summers, Terry

Glanzman of Mondovi, has found nestlings killed by black flies in his “K-boxes”. It was thought that black fly intrusion into the K-Box was due to the larger sized opening. However, the results from standard-sized, oval openings of the unvented, NAB’s-Style boxes at Ft. McCoy, indicates that no nest box is safe from black fly intrusion. In fact, Gary Gaard also had black fly, chick deaths in unvented nest boxes last summer as well (Pat Ready, Personal Communication). So where does this leave us? The major reason to completely eliminate vent holes or to at least plug them in April & May, is to prevent

cold-related loss of chicks & eggs. So those still with vent holes in their nest boxes should plug them if they are not plugged already. To use your plugs for cold and vented boxes, use a temporary piece of wood placed over the vents with a screw in the middle. A simple twist on or about June 1 will then allow ample venting in the warmer periods of the season. Still, we permanently plug vents on the Audubon trail and have found very few deaths attributable to heat, so permanently plugged vents work as well. At this time, it appears that no nest box for cavity nesting songbirds is immune from intrusion and subsequent ravages of black flies. Furthermore, there is no known way to prevent them from entering nest boxes. Luckily, black fly infestations seem to be involved mostly with high rainfalls. When heavy rains hit your bluebird trails in late May or June, be prepared for possible black fly hatches which could impact your 2nd or 3rd broods of nestlings.


From the Pages of Wisconsin Bluebird Newsletter:

Looking BackBy Don Bragg, Rhinelander

5 Years Ago, Spring 2004 A wetlands map of Wisconsin produced by the Department of Natural Resources at the request of Data Collection and Analysis chairman Joe O’Halloran shows that the state has five times more surface area of wetlands than inland lakes and streams. The wetlands map was compiled by biologist Ron Gatti using the WDNR Geographic Information System (GIS) software. The map is printed in the centerfold of the Spring 2004 Wisconsin Bluebird newsletter. A glance at the map shows Wisconsin wetlands to be concentrated across the northern and eastern counties where feeder streams flow toward rivers. “There is a strong inverse relationship between bluebird productivity and tree swallow productivity (in wetland areas),” says O’Halloran.

10 Years Ago, Spring 1999 More than 10,000 bluebirds were reported fledged by BRAW monitors in 1998 compared to the 6,000 or so reported fledged in 1997, from about the same number of boxes, reports Joe O’Halloran, Data Collection and Analysis chair. In the years 1996, 1997, and 1998, paired boxes dropped from about 1 out of every 2 boxes, to 1 out of 3, to one out of 4, respectively (statewide averages).

Other factors at work to reach the bluebirds fledged per box record was the decline in the use of deep boxes. The Peterson box became the most widely used box in

Wisconsin, Monitors continue to adopt effective raccoon protection (such as the rebar/conduit post system), and the weather during the nesting season “couldn’t have been better.”

* * * * Phil and Julie Hineman of LaValle, WI reported success in deterring house sparrows by using short lengths of ¼” diameter white nylon rope that were stapled to the forward edge of two nest boxes and allowed to dangle just below the entrance holes of the boxes. The ropes were attached to the box roofs on July 12 after sparrows had taken to perching on the boxes. From then on, the sparrows avoided the boxes as did Robins and Red-winged blackbirds. The ropes do not bother the bluebirds and they will even cling to the ropes before flying into the box, the Hinemans stated.

15 Years Ago, Spring 1994 Placing bluebird nest boxes in poor habitat where the birds come in conflict with European starlings, house wrens, squirrels, mice, cats, raccoons, other small animals. Pesticides will produce a bluebird “sink” population, wrote BRAW editor Don Bragg. However, in the same issue, BRAW director Warren Close of Salem, WI said, “…the only bluebirds I have seen down here nested in “sink” habitats. One nest is located in an apple orchard very close to farm buildings and very close to a thick woods. The other bluebird nest is in my own backyard, which violates practically every rule of good habitat (woodland, brush, pine plantation, rural buildings and tall, dense crop plants [corn] nearby…yet it produces bluebirds.”

* * * * Washing of hands after handling nest box materials and avoidance of dust when cleaning out nest boxes are precautions that should be taken, says an article about hantavirus or “Four

Corner” illness. According to epidemiologist Jamie Childs of the Center for Disease Control, there is no reason to panic about hantavirus. The rodents most commonly infected with the disease are the deer mice of woods and fields. Good tools for cleaning next boxes are a small paint brush and putty knife. Stand upwind from the work to avoid the dust.

20 Years Ago, Spring 1989 A Department of Natural Resources (DNR) licensing requirement that would require blue birders to purchase either an annual small game hunting license for $9.60 or an annual trapping license for $13.60 to control unprotected house sparrows and European starlings continued to be appealed to the Natural Resources Board (NRB). In the meantime, BRAW urged members to seek a free sparrow or starling trapping or shooting permit from their local conservation warden.

Bluebird info –www.braw.org

The First Bluebird of SpringA wintry blast (could it be the last?)enshrouds the land in greys -Still, I walk my path, despite the wrath of March’s dwindling days.

Such a fleeting thing, this early Spring-I fear my hopes will failfor sunny days, with warming rays,along my well-worn trail.

But then my eyes, to my surprisedetect a brighter hue…I glance to see, in yonder tree,My welcome friend so blue!

I’ve waited long to hear your song-You lift my spirits high!And now I know, tho’ north winds blow, that Spring, at last, is nigh!

— by Bob Tamm Muskego, Wisconsin


Downy Woodpeckers for HireBy Gary Gaard

Summary: You can get a woodpecker to make a nesting cavity for bluebirds. The Downy is an interesting, hard working employee. But he’s neither practical nor reliable.

Introduction I knew of three instances where cavity nesters enlarged arrow holes and then built their nest in 3-D foam archery targets – two chickadees and one bluebird. Then, on 5/3/07, a Pat Durkin article in the Wisconsin State Journal recounted his experience of a chickadee nesting in his target. The Durkin article got me to thinking… Early in my birdhouse building career, I made some houses with 2X4 redwood floors (redwood is a very soft wood). To my chagrin, the chickadees pecked right through the floor of some of these houses. Chickadee fledges on my bluebird trails have been steadily declining. It would be nice to have more Black Cap Chickadees. You can enjoy their repartee of song 12 months a year. I especially enjoy chickadee parents bringing half dozen fledglings, tail feathers not yet developed, to my urban bird feeder. Is enlarging a cavity a mating ritual for the Black Cap? Would providing a house that required chickadees to enlarge a cavity stimulate nesting? Building/placing a nest box filled with foam Sixteen bluebird houses were built with 1 ½ X 2 ¼ inch oval entrance holes. The sub-roof blocks ¼ inch of the top of the entrance hole to restrict head room (to reduce House Sparrow nesting). I use this size hole, in part, to reduce the number of entrance holes woodpeckers enlarge over winter. An old piece of 4” Styrofoam was cut by band saw to roughly fit the inside of a bluebird house. Then a fillet knife was used to trim the piece to exactly fill the cavity of each nest box. November of ’07 the Styrofoam filled houses were placed in chickadee habitat at friend, neighbor, and co-worker homes. Some houses were in rural areas, some in urban. A prerequisite was that the Styrofoam filled house be placed so it could be seen from a window.

Downy Woodpeckers go to work Within days of placing the houses I started getting reports of Downy Woodpeckers hollowing cavities in the Styrofoam. The Downy would go into the house and come out with a beak full of Styrofoam. Obviously the Styrofoam had a static electricity charge

as the woodpecker couldn’t shake it from its beak. Downy Wood-peckers made a cavity in half of the Styrofoam filled houses. No other species started a cavity if the Downy didn’t. If the Downy didn’t make a cavity, no bird nested in the house. I thought the Downy might nest if the house was higher off the ground, so some were moved to a height of 10 or more feet. The Downy did not nest in any houses.

Chickadees didn’t start their own nest cavity The chickadee never made its own cavity. However, once a woodpecker had started a cavity, the chickadee pair would finish the cavity to their specification. Who nested in the Styrofoam filled nest boxes? Black Cap Chickadees, wrens, Tree Swallows, and Eastern Bluebirds fledged broods in the Styrofoam cavities made by Downy Woodpeckers. There are city birds and country birds. I live in the city, so it’s not likely my yard will have blue birds or Tree Swallows. But I was fortunate as a Downy started the cavity. Three nests fledged – one chickadee and two wrens. The Downy likes to sleep late in the morning – in mid-winter I’d see him leave the house several hours after sunrise.

Another possibility Maybe I can get a Downy Woodpecker to make an insulated roost box. Sometimes bluebirds overwinter in Wisconsin. Certainly they migrate back too early – March can get pretty cold, especially at night. We know that bluebirds freeze if the temperature drops too far or too fast. Bluebirds will roost in boxes, up to 25 birds in one box. This fall I’m going to place some 2X normal nest box size, Styrofoam filled, roost boxes. A Styrofoam insulated box should give pretty good protection against cold, wet, and wind.

Styrofoam on left is formed to a nesting cavity by a Downy Woodpecker. A nest of bluebird, and then a nest of wren fledged from the nest box this Styrofoam was in.Styrofoam on right is shaped to fill the cavity of a nest box. Placed into a bluebird house, it will fill the nest cavity.

The Eastern Bluebird nest with five eggs is in a Styrofoam cavity formed by a Downy Woodpecker.

Jack

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Bluebirds Challenge Winter in Wisconsin By Leif Marking The Eastern Bluebird traditionally migrates in late fall to southern or gulf coast states to avoid the rigorous winters in the northern states that offer limited food sources and cold temperatures. During the past decade, however, many of the winter seasons have been milder than usual, and some bluebirds have ventured longer prior to migrating, Few were reported to stay all winter. Despite recent drastically more rugged winter weather, unusual numbers of bluebirds are sighted and recorded in Christmas bird counts in many Wisconsin regions. A number of folks are communicating their sightings, and some are reporting that bluebirds are spending the nights in their empty bluebird nest boxes for protection from the cold. Many others report that bluebirds appear routinely in cold weather at their heated water bath or bird feeders. Some folks are concerned the bluebirds might starve and they ask what kind of feed and cold protection to offer. My usual response to these inquiries is that bluebirds obviously survived in this country for hundreds of years without handouts of food or heated water in winter, and migration has been mandatory for survival. So what has changed this past decade that would encourage or allow bluebirds to overwinter in Wisconsin? Certainly the half dozen milder winters were conducive for healthy populations of bird species to expand their winter range. Other factors include the increased interest and awareness of people to commit efforts to helping the birds with new and innovative bird-feeding technologies as promoted commercially by suppliers of bird feed. Perhaps the most important attraction for keeping bluebirds in the region is the heated water bath, and sales of these have soared dramatically these past few years. Mealworms and other concocted feed items are now available by mail order throughout the year. Winter overnight roost boxes are advertized

to offer the birds protection from cold winter temperatures. Also many bluebird nest boxes are available for overnight roosting. With the more severe winter conditions of 2007 and again in 2008 the situation has changed markedly. For example La Crosse WI, experienced all-time record snow accumulation in December with frequent below zero temperatures. An ice storm in early January 2009 covered much of the natural food items that bluebirds especially depend on for daily sustenance and survival. On January 8, 2009, the La Crosse Tribune Outdoors Section featured a photo of 10 bluebirds on a snowy, heated water bath, and many other newspapers and magazines were reporting similar sightings. Many of these bluebirds may perish attempting to survive this year’s harsh winter conditions as food sources dwindle. Good nutrition is vital in winter to maintain body temperatures sufficient to avoid hypothermia that often leads to mortality. This is also important to maitain the energy necessary for mobility to avoid predators. Bluebirds that are in poor health perhaps lack the energy and orientation for migration. One of my bluebird friends has found two dead male bluebirds of the four that had been roosting in the box in her back yard. She had been cleaning and bedding the box routinely to improve their opportunity for survival. She offered them mealworms but they did not consume; their excretions contained various pits from berries. Her evaluation of this precarious situation was that these bluebirds should have migrated, and she would be willing to remove the nest box in winter to prevent another occurrence in the future. Other bluebirds are likely to perish this year in boxes that are not routinely monitored or in natural cavities. The majority of bluebirds attempting to overwinter and those reported dead are males and most likely juveniles that have not experienced migration. They could be late season-born and did not mature sufficiently to gain the physiological character or incentive that leads them to migrate. Or they may have been born to parents that

successfully negotiated through moderate winters in Wisconsin. However, humans may well influence their migration patterns more in winter by offering desirable food, heated water baths, and nesting boxes for night roosting. Bird experts maintain that wild birds receive only about 15 percent of their winter diet from bird feeders. They can survive comfortably without handouts. The feeders are actually supplemental. In fact, the greatest numbers of birds in this country live, survive, and thrive in environments that are devoid of handouts. There is good evidence that wild birds could survive without these handouts, but the handouts attract birds to the great pleasure and satisfaction of humans. Bluebirds and other insect-eating birds are not accustomed to feeding on seeds and fruits and do so as a last resort for survival. They are incapable of surviving most northern winters, and that is why they traditionally migrate to warmer climates in the winter. So is climate change the primary reason for bluebirds to alter their inherited tendencies of migration? Or are human activities and innovations in bird feeding responsible for the bluebirds delaying or refraining from migration? If global warming develops noticeably in our lifetime, we can expect birds to respond accordingly. However, we must be more cautious in our generosity of handouts for bluebirds if we find that we are discouraging migration. I suspect there are many bluebirds in Wisconsin this winter that will perish in this bone-chilling cold. Some birders fear the stage could be set for heavy bluebird mortality. I have a multitude of winter birds at my feeder constantly devouring sunflower seed in the absence of a heated water bath. We see no bluebirds lingering around the feeder and none are roosting in nearby empty bluebird nest boxes. For the sake of bluebirds, perhaps use of these seemingly harmless heated water baths by well-meaning people deserves further serious consideration.


BRAW Welcomes New Members & Donors The word keeps spreading, bluebirds are addictive! BRAW welcomes these new members and appreciates those who renew and especially those who send in a donation for bluebird trail development. This will help with Operation Top State and our goal to reach 30,000 bluebirds fledged! Remember a gift membership to BRAW helps spread the word and helps the bluebirds too.Lawrence & Bonnie Kairys – SheboyganDa vid A Speigle – Wooster, OH – Gift from David & Lynn

SpeigleWalter Jost – Muskego – Gift from Robert TammInger Astrin – MilwaukeeSandra Vortanz – WaupacaRobert Jaworski – PulaskiKent Stephan – Holman

Ma rk Lesar – Mequon – Gift from Ellen & Jean-Pierre Lafouge

Phillip Farrington – BangorDuane Doering – Wausau – Gift from Clark MortensonOney Sattell – GreendaleSusan Krueger – Howards GroveJoann Engel – Appleton – Gift from Robert & Susan KindeDavid Baird – SalemRonald Christel – ValderKeith Nagel – Juneau – Gift from Robert & Karen NagelLu xemburg Casco Middle School – Casco – Gift from

Don PritzlDarrel Eberhardt - HixtonJames Sterzinger – Marshfield - New Life member$100 donations received:Kristine Vaughn - Stoughton - $100 trail donationDr. Tim Freeman - Onieda - $100 donationNancy Crawford – Iron Mtn, MI - $100 trail donation.

Bluebird B&B?By Nina CheneyI don’t know if, deep down, I’ve always wanted to run a bed and breakfast. I do know that, since I noticed some Eastern bluebirds here on Dec. 8, I’ve relished my new role as proprietor of the “Pink B&B,” my styrofoam-insulated Peterson box on the far edge of our little restored prairie near Mt. Horeb in Dane County. My over-wintering guests couldn’t be more cooperative. They never complain about their standard-sized room. They’re up and out early, mak-ing themselves scarce for the entire day, and then return like clockwork in late afternoon when, in an orderly fashion, they gracefully re-enter the house entrance one by one and remain “without a peep” until morning. Their winter rou-tine is set. Me? Actually, I don’t even make breakfast. All I do is enjoy their presence...and I do enjoy them very, very much. When I first realized my “Blue Man Group” was using the old Peterson about 150 yards from my front door, I was cautioned by a fellow birder to open the house to encourage them find a better place to roost during the cold months. Perhaps a tree cavity that would provide more insulation, he told me. Insulation. Hmm, I thought. Insulation! That’s when I decided to cover the box with some scrap pieces of thick, pink styrofoam one day while the guests were out. That afternoon, when the birds returned, I watched with anticipation as they swooped down from the walnut tree one by one and hovered in front of the house, checking it out, then returning to the branch. Time after time the birds flew down, even landed on the house, but they just weren’t sure. By the next day though, they had accepted the strange renovation and pink or no pink, reclaimed the place as their own. I’m a counter, and I like to “get it right,” so it took several days to determine exactly how many bluebird guests I had. It seemed more accurate for me to count them in the morn-ing (being available then), though often I stood bleary-eyed and blinking, glued to the window at dawn’s first light for minutes at a time while my teapot steamed away on the

stove, and my dog at my feet, not-so patiently waited to be fed. I was reluctant to put down my binoculars in case I should miss a streak of blue. My daily count went from Fabulous Five to Sensational Six to Notorious Nine, when finally on Christmas Day I had my whole family counting from both upstairs and downstairs windows. Shouting out num-bers as we saw each bird swoop into the house, the count reached nine and I lowered my binoculars. Then Mom shouted, “TEN!” It’s been Terrific Ten ever since. I don’t know the results of studies done about multiple-roosting bluebirds. I’ve been fascinated to see them (about evenly males and females, I surmised) line up on the branch in the morning, where they sit for several minutes, preen-ing, until all roommates have emerged. Sometimes one or more will fly back to the house and look in. Sometimes sev-eral re-enter the house. But once the last bluebird is finally out and all are assembled, they all take off together, flying in the general direction of the creek. So I wonder if a drink is the first thing they seek. The only evidence I found of what they might be eating was a red, seeded berry that was frozen to the entrance hole one day. It looked similar to a raspberry. Though I’ve made a “Bluebird Mix” primarily of currants, corn meal, melted suet and sunflower fines, I’ve never observed any of them sampling the fare, which hangs in a screen-bottom feeder near their preferred branches of the walnut tree. Nor do they visit my birdbaths as the ones who nest here do in the spring, summer and fall. If I ever do get into the hospitality business, I will undoubtedly never have as easy and enjoyable a season as during my first winter of the Pink B&B, hosting my impec-cable, gorgeous blue guests, the Terrific Ten.

BPCA Contributes to BRAWBy Leif Marking The Brice Prairie Conservation Asso-ciation (BPCA) membership approved a contribution to the Bluebird Restora-tion Association of Wisconsin (BRAW) last summer provided the donation was in the form of bluebird boxes that could be marketed by BRAW. The plan was for BRAW to sell the boxes for $20 each at the Madison Garden Expo in February and other similar events. The proceeds were to be used by the BRAW Top State Project to expand the numbers of bluebird boxes and trails in many Wisconsin counties. BPCA purchased enough lumber for 100 bluebird boxes, and Fred Craig and I proceeded to build them. Fred and I have our shops equipped with the necessary tools to do this kind of work, and we are the main box build-ers for BPCA. They are the NABS-style boxes made of cedar lumber that is 7/8 inches thick and smooth on one side for easy cleaning. These boxes were constructed to be convertible to vent or no vent simply by fastening the side panels to the front and back panels with screws that are removable. Once these boxes are sold, BRAW should have $2,000 to invest in the Top State Project. In November Kent Hall contacted

BPCA to find out if we could con-struct 250 or so boxes for his Top State Program needs this spring. Kent is the driving force in the effort that has al-ready resulted in recruitment of many new members and monitors and a dramatic increase in the production of bluebirds. Since the need was so vo-luminous, Kent suggested we cut the costs by using standard pine boards rather than the more expensive cedar. This resulted in material costs of less than half the cost of cedar material.Fred and I purchased the pine lumber on sale at Menards and proceeded to construct NABS-style bluebird boxes. To save on lumber we eliminated the lower extension on the back panel since that portion is not necessary with the new mounting systems. Despite Parkinson’s disease and knee prob-lems, I can work a couple hours before a rest, and with that meager effort I constructed 12 to 15 boxes a day. But big jobs can be accomplished a little at a time! Together we constructed 276 boxes in November. They are avail-able for the returning bluebirds in spring. These pine boxes are very serviceable and functional, however they may not last quite as long as cedar boxes. The cedar boxes, of thicker lumber, offer better insulation against cold in spring and heat in summer, but box tempera-ture is often not an issue in Wisconsin. The bluebirds will treasure them!


ALAS Box Building Blitz!In August the Aldo Leopold Audu-bon Society (ALAS) of Stevens Pt. held a box building workshop and built over 500 NABS Style boxes for BRAW. The event was organized by Kent Hall. Pat Ready photos

Leif Marking inspects the nest boxes built for use by BRAW for the Opera-tion Top State effort.

Joe Schultz adding the finishing touch.

Kent Hall secures boxes.


2009 BRAW Annual Convention SetThe BRAW, 2009 Annual Convention will be held on Sept. 19, 2009, at the Kickapoo Valley Nature Reserve Visi-tor’s Center on Hwy. 131, just north of Lafarge, WI. More information will be in the next issue or call Kent Hall at 715/344-8081 or email [email protected]

ADAMSMyron Beyers393 Gale Dr.Wis Dells, WI 53965608-586-4833

ASHLANDConnie UhligRFD 1 Box 243Glidden, WI 54527715-264-3892

BARRONLuke & Dan Hostetler2383 13th AveCameon, WI 54822715-458-4628

BAYFIELDMetro Maznio III54750 Krafts Pt RdCable, WI [email protected]

BROWNDeborah Nitka2336 Wildwood Dr.Green Bay, WI [email protected]

BURNETTIier Anderson27302 Hill RoadSpooner, WI715-635-4534

BUFFALOTerry GlanzmanW6750 Hemlock RdMondovi, WI 54755715-875-4771

CALUMETDick Nikolai3369 W Brewster StAppleton, WI [email protected]

CHIPPEWADebbie Anderson19454 Co Rd OCadott, WI 54727715-382-4639

CLARKDennis OwensN4327 Witte AveNeilsville, WI [email protected]

COLUMBIARyan WaldenW11811 Wall StreetPortage, WI 53901608-745-1568

CRAWFORDLane Poulin44045 WheatvilleGays Mills, WI 54631608-872-2156

BRAW COUNTY COORDINATORS for 2009Once each year, Wisconsin Bluebird newsletter publishes a list of BRAW county coordinators to help the public locate their local bluebird program contact person.

DANEPatrick Ready1210 Oakwood Ct.Stoughton, WI 53589608-873-1703

DODGEJack BartholmaiN7229 Hickory Spring RdBeaver Dam, WI [email protected]

DOORRoy & Charlotte LukesPO Box 105Egg Harbor WI 54209920-823-2478

DOUGLAS COUNTYCharles Bergsten1072 E USHY 2Poplar WI 54864364-2679

DUNNJames MichalskiRt 1 Box 141Downing, WI 54734715-265-4588

EAU CLAIRENo Appointee

LAFAYETTECarol McDaniel14953 Hwy 23 Darlington, WI 53530

FLORENCENo Appointee

FOND DU LACLarry VineW10145 Hwy 49 EWaupun, WI 53963920-382-6770

FORESTNo Appointee

GRANTAlvin J BontregerP O Box 100Beetown, WI 53802608-794-2212

GREENNo Appointee

GREEN LAKESherman Griffin605 Co Hwy FFDalton, WI 53926920-394-3244

IOWADale & Doris Moody6564 Kimberly WayDe Forest, WI608-846-5024

IRONJanice BorthFire #2941 Thompson Tr.P O Box 277Mercer, WI 54547715-476-2388

JACKSONRuss & John SchrinnerBox 14Melrose, WI [email protected]

JEFFERSONRichard WanieW5920 Lee DriveFort Atkinson, WI 53538920-563-6274

JUNEAUPat KoblenzW4783 26th St. EastNecedah, WI 54646608-565-7490

KENOSHAJohn Meyer1710 29th StKenosha, WI 53140262-654-3686

KEWAUNEEDon PritzlN5766 Birchwood LnLuxenburg, WI 54217920-845-2436

LA CROSSELeif MarkingW7917 CTH ZBOnalaska, WI [email protected]

LANGLADEPete Solin Jr.W8845 10th AveAntigo, WI 54409715-627-2267 or [email protected]

LINCOLNJim BlankenheimW3752 Spring Creek Dr.Tomahawk, WI 54487715-453-9465

MANITOWOCNo Appointee

MARATHON COUNTYClaire Romanak7175 Nehrbass RoadAthens WI 54411715-257-1905

MARINETTEEdward KowalskiN2075 Shore DrMarinette, WI 54143715-732-8803

MARQUETTENo Appointee

MENOMINEENo Appointee

MILWAUKEEEllen Lafouge9154 N. Fielding RdBayside, WI [email protected]

MONROENo appointee

OCONTOPete SytsmaRt 1 10549 W Post Lk RdColeman, WI [email protected]

ONEIDADon Bragg4303 Timber LaneRhinelander, WI 54501715-362-2090

OUTAGAMIECurt SommerE8124 Cut Off RdNew London, WI 54961920-982-5675

OZAUKEEAndy & Terry HolschbachN5075 Co Rd UGlenbeulah, WI 53023

PIERCEJim BeixW11268River Falls, WI 54022715-425-6981

PEPINConnie AndersonN2543 County Rd J.Stockholm, WI [email protected]

POLK COUNTYJulie Fox851 Vincent St. S Park Road 35St. Croix Falls WI 54024715-483-3747

PORTAGEJoe Schultz5221 Cheryl’s DrPlover, WI [email protected]

PRICENo Appointee

RACINEJohn Meyer1710 29th StKenosha, WI 53140262-654-3686

RICHLANDJane FurchgottS10093 A Bear Valley RdLone Rock, WI 53556

ROCKHarv Kucaba3711 N County Line RdDelavan, WI 53115608-883-2456

RUSKDon Bartig216 W Phillips St.Ladysmith, WI 715-532-3303

SAUKNo Appointee

SAWYERDiane Chambers11734 N Harper RdHayward, WI 54843715-634-2451

SHAWANONo Appointee

SHEBOYGANNo Appointee

ST CROIXNo Appointee

TAYLORDwight OffordW13824 Hwy 64Lublin, WI 54447715-447-8644

TREMPEALEAUCatherine McCalvinW25417 Spaulding RdTrempealeau, WI [email protected]

VERNONArt Brieske623 13th AveOnalaska, WI 54650608-783-3148Shannon JohnsonP.O. Box 208Ontario WI 54651608-337-4779

VILASNo Appointee

WASHBURNGary DunsmoorN4961 Beaverbrook AveSpooner, WI715-635-9180

WASHINGTONSherry Ullius4820 Hillside RdWest Bend, WI 53095262-644-6178

WASHINGTONMary Holleback720 Madison AveWest Bend, WI [email protected] WAUKESHACathy ChybowskiW345 S4011 Virgin Forest Dr.Dousman, WI 53118414-965-2189

WALWORTHJerry Schoen682 Foxglove LaneWhitewater, WI 53190

WAUPACAAmanda Beyer290 Water St.Ogdensburg, WI 54962715-256-1260

WAUSHARATom WhalleyRt 1 Box 223Hancock, WI 54943715-249-5605

WINNEBAGOJohn Zeinert2699 Wrenwood LaneNeenah, WI 54956920-725-8158

WOODJeffery Zimmerman6330 Pine Ridge TrailWis Rapids, WI 54494715-325-5270

More information about bluebirds, nest boxes and monitoring forms can be found on www.braw.org.

Attracting Purple MartinsPurple Martin Conservation Association

Educate Yourself. Learn everything you can about Purple Martins. Talk with other martin landlords and visit the web site (www.purplemartin. org) of the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA), an international nonprofit orga nization dedicated to aiding Purple Martins through land-lord education and scientific research. Read the book: Enjoying Purple Martins More by Richard Wolinski and or the Stokes’ Purple Martin Book, by Donald & Lillian Stokes. Join the PMCA and receive the informative Purple Martin Update magazine.

Choose the Right Lo cation. (See diagrams) Martins have very specific space requirements. One of the main reasons peo ple fail to attract martins is that they place their martin housing incorrectly. Martin housing should be in the center of the largest open spot available, about 30-120 feet from human housing. Place the housing where you can see it so you can enjoy watching and hearing the martins. There should be no trees within 40 feet, preferably 60 feet, of the housing. In the southern half of their breeding range, martins are less fussy about house placement, so sometimes housing can be within 25 feet of trees and still attract martins. But the farther housing is placed from trees, the better. Housing height should be in the range of 10-17 feet. Don’t attach wires that lead to trees, buildings, or the ground to the house or pole, as they may allow predators to access the housing.

Put Up Manageable Housing. Your chances for success will be better if your housing is easy to manage. Choose a pole that telescopes, or is equipped with a winch or rope & pulley, and housing that has easy access to the compart ments. Houses and gourds should be white, or a light color. White housing attracts martins best and reflects sunlight, keeping nestlings cooler. Cavity

floor dimensions should be at least 6” x 6” but larger cavities (7” x 12”) are preferred by the martins, and offer better protection from preda-tors and rain. Unfortunately, larger compartments are also attractive to European Starlings, but a modification to the entrance hole will minimize starling problems. A round entrance hole of 2-1/8” is preferred by the martins, but a range from 1-3/4” to 2-3/8” will work. Make sure there is adequate ventilation and drainage in each nest on cavity. Many houses can be improved. Add insulation to the attic, remodel interiors to offer larger compartments, and add porch dividers to houses with shared porches. Dividers keep males from claiming extra cavities and can improve occupancy rates. They also keep nestlings from wandering to other compart-ments where they can steal food from younger nestlings, causing them to starve.

Open Housing at the Right Time. At active sites, the first martins usually return within a week or two of the previous years’

arrival dates. (See adult migration-timing map). Landlords should have housing ready, but keep it closed until some martins are back. Adult martins can sometimes be attracted to new sites, especially if their nesting attempt failed the previous year, or if the new site offers superior housing or location. At uncolonized sites, you can open housing when the “scouts” are due in hopes of attracting adult martins. But be prepared to keep your site free of House Sparrows and starlings (see tips on next page) through both adult and subadult arrival periods. Be ready to supply single boxes or gourds for any native nest-site competitors (Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows & Great Crested Flycatchers) that try to claim martin housing. Don’t be discouraged



if you are unsuccessful at attracting adults. Keep trying while subadults are arriving. Subadult martins (last year’s young) will colonize new sites or join existing sites. They begin arriving 4 weeks after the first adults in the northern third of the breeding range (see migration map), 6 weeks after adults in the center third, or 8 weeks after adults in the southern third of the breeding range. Martin migration is a drawn-out affair, and martins can begin nesting up through the end of June, range-wide. Keep your housing ready; don’t close it up or let other birds use it.

Increase Your Chances. A few things can be done to make your site more attractive to Purple Martins. Offer a combination of houses and gourds. Play a dawnsong recording. Add a Purple Martin decoy or two. Place 1-2” of nesting material into each compartment.

Don’t Close it Too Soon. Don’t close the entrances, or take the housing down, until late August, as fledglings will be searching for next year’s breeding sites in late summer.

Protect Your Housing from Predators. Once you attract Purple Mar tins, don’t assume that because you never see any predators there are none around. Raccoons, snakes, and owls raid bird houses at night. Few experienc es are more painful than losing all your martins be cause you didn’t equip your poles and housing with guards. Since all martin poles, wood or metal, are easily climbed by rat snakes, squirrels, and raccoons, the poles require climbing ani mal barriers. You can install guards before or after your martins have arrived. In areas with fire ants, Teflon spray or tape, or use a ring of petroleum jelly (or grease) on the pole. This will stop the ants. Grease won’t stop snakes or raccoons, so install a pole guard, too. External guards on the housing itself protect against aerial raids by hawks, owls, and crows.

Conduct Weekly Nest Checks, Daily Walk -unders, and Keep Written Records. Although many landlords are reluctant to check on their tenants

during the nesting season, it’s one of the most valuable practices landlords can adopt. Nest checks will not cause martins to abandon their young. If your martin housing raises and lowers vertically, as it should, number the compartments, check the nests weekly, and keep written records. Landlords who conduct regular nest

checks will be more successful simply because they’ll discover any problems in time to correct them. In addi tion to weekly checks, walk under the housing daily to look for plucked martin feathers, shed owl feathers, cast owl pellets, thrown-out nestlings, hatched eggshells, etc. The items you find are clues to what’s going on and may alert you to problems that need your attention. We strongly urge you to register your colony site with the Purple Martin Conservation Association and to participate in its “Project Martinwatch.”

Supply These Aids. Crushed eggshell or oystershell is a valuable dietary supplement that supplies calcium and grit, and helps prevent calcium deficiencies in nestlings. Offer it all season in an elevated platform feeder. Eggshells should be rinsed, dried thoroughly in a 200-degree oven (to kill bacteria), then crushed into small pieces. Landlords can supply nest material by scattering dried pine needles (long, soft ones such as White Pine), dry twigs, or a bale of straw in an open area. Create a supply of mud nearby for nest building. During martin-killing weather extremes, toss crickets or mealworms to your martins.

Be Prepared for Problems. Keep the phone number of a licensed wildlife

rehabilita tor or your state wildlife agency handy. They are a sick or injured bird’s best chance for survival. Place fallouts back in their own nest (your records will help). If it’s not possible to put them back in, take them to a rehabber. Don’t try to raise them yourself. It’s illegal and your good in tentions cannot replace the experience of a specialist. If parasites or wet nests threaten the survival of nestlings, replace the nest material with clean, dry wood shavings or pine straw. Never use pesticides in nest boxes. It’s illegal and they are not safe for the birds.

Practice Active Management by Controlling House Sparrows and European Starlings. Starlings and House Sparrows will take over compartments, destroy eggs, and kill nestlings. They can also prevent martins from nesting at unestablished sites. Adult martins are often in jured or killed by starlings. Successful martin landlords do not tolerate these nonnative nest-site competitors. Starlings and House Sparrows are not protected (since they are not native birds) and may be controlled by trapping, shooting, and nest tear-outs. You can also use starling-resistant entrances (cut crescent entrances 1-3/16” high by 3” wide, and placed no higher than 1/2” above the porch floor). If native birds (Tree Swallows, wrens, bluebirds, or flycatchers) try to nest in your martin housing, close it and put up single-unit boxes for these desirable species elsewhere on your property. Re-open the martin housing once the new box has been accepted.

Keep Your Housing in Good Repair. Remove nests and scrub housing with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water). Rinse and air dry before storing or closing for the winter. Take care of any needed repairs now, so you won’t be caught unprepared next spring. All types of housing will last longer if stored indoors over the winter. If housing is left out, plug the holes. Otherwise House Sparrows and starlings will claim it in late winter and be impossible to dislodge come spring.

Photos by Pat Ready


BRAW Online: Surf the Bluebird Info Flyway!Ellen Lafouge, BRAW Webmaster Spring in Wisconsin is a great time to do some indoor bluebirding while waiting for the weather to warm and the Eastern Bluebirds to arrive and start raising their broods, hopefully in your nest boxes. Tear yourself away from sigh-ing and looking out the window at those still leafless trees and bushes, hoping to catch a flash of heart stopping blue, and crank up your computer for a visit to BRAW’s web site at www.braw.org. Bluebirds are just a click away. Once you arrive at the homepage you’ve got a lot of choices. Be sure to check out the Calendar of Events, which features bluebird programs, seminars and presenta-tions being held around the state. Spring is a perfect time to attend one of these events offered by knowledgeable, longtime bluebirders and BRAW members. These events are fun, inspiring and educational, and often are geared toward the whole family. Check back often as new events are added to the calendar regularly. Whether you monitor a lot or a few nest boxes, or are thinking of getting more involved in bluebirding, there is a wealth of information to be found by clicking on Starting a Trail. You have at your fingertips an online copy of the BRAW Information Packet: Attracting Eastern Bluebirds and Other Cavity Nesters, revised for 2009. This booklet pulls together the collective experiences of people who work especially in the interest of bluebirds, particularly those persons who record and summarize their nest box data

and whom we term monitors. If you’ve got a question about bluebirding, the chances are high that it’s going to be answered in the BRAW Info Packet. You’ll also find in this section of the web site a wonderful series of colorful photo charts by professional photographers Jack Bartholmai and Patrick Ready on

Bluebird Chick Development – the First 14 Days;•The Life Cycles of the Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, •Chickadee and House Wren; andA Nest Guide to Cavity Nesters. •

If building your own nestboxes sounds like a project you’d enjoy, you’ll find downloadable plans for building nest boxes recommended and found to be most produc-tive by BRAW. Go to Nest Boxes from the homepage and choose your plan. BRAW urges bluebirders to monitor all nest boxes under their care on a weekly basis. The Annual Bird Nesting Survey Summary Form 21 is used to report your season’s bird nesting data to BRAW. When September rolls around don’t forget to send in your Form 21. Your bluebird fledges will be included in BRAW’s efforts to become the top pro-ducing bluebird state in the country, Operation Top State. Form 21 is available to download at Monitoring Forms. You’ll also find other useful forms for keeping track of your weekly monitoring. Besides what’s already been noted, www.braw.org offers a lot more. There are articles from recent and past issues of the Wisconsin Bluebird, research studies, a download-able auto fill-in new membership/renewal form (Become a Member), a link to the BRAW online store (The BRAW

Store), information on outreach efforts, lists of the county coordinators, board members and other contacts, just to name a few. You can also email BRAW with any bluebird or membership-related questions by using the direct link Email BRAW. We also encourage members to use this email link if you have a bluebird event you’d like added to the Calendar. For sheer pleasure and inspiration, before you leave the web site, be sure to take a look at the Photo Galleries, as well as the latest Featured Photo on the homep-age. I always end my BRAW web time by listening to the beautiful recorded songs and calls of our beloved Eastern Bluebird, Sialia Sialis (the link to an excel-lent recording is just below the featured bluebird-related quotation on the homep-age). That sweet tur-a-lee is guaranteed to keep your spirits lifted after you log out of www.braw.org. It’s not as good as hearing the real thing, but at this time of year, while waiting for Spring and the bluebirds to arrive in earnest, it sure helps.


Recommended Oval Hole Plan

1-3/8"

5-1/2" Drill two 1-3/8" holes & chisel sides flat to oval

9" 9-7/8"

10-1/2" approx. 1' 1-3/4"

Drainage corner cuts

3-3/4"

Side Side

RoofBackFloor

9"

6-5/8"

5"

5"

Front

PivotscrewsPivot

screws

Sawcut

6-5/8"

Drill hole through back and side ofdoor to hold door closed with nail

Recess bottom 1/2 inch

Recess bottom 1/2 inch

Bottom opening side

Alternative option if desired

Top opening side

Recess bottom 1 inch

Entrance 1-3/8"oval (see above)

7-1/2"

2 to2-1/4"

Front View

NABS style Bluebird BoxCedar, 7/8 " lumber preferred.8" wide for top6" wide for back, front, sides & bottomAll angle cuts are 10 degreesRoof is 7-1/2" wide x 10-1/2 " longSides 9-7/8" long x 5" wideFloor is 5" x 3-3/4"Back & front 5-1/2" wide

Pivotscrews

2008 BRAW Elected & Appointed OfficersPresident Joe Schultz, 5221 Cheryl’s Dr., Plover, WI 54467 • 715/341-5521 [email protected] (term to 12/09)Vice President Dr. Kent Hall, 200 Pine Bluff Rd., Stevens Point, WI 54481 • 715/344-8081 [email protected] (term to 12/09)Secretary Patricia Heiden, W399 S5484 Hwy Z, Dousman, WI 53118 • 262/495-8595 [email protected]. (term to 12/10) Treasurer, Mike Helgren, 1013 Georgetown Circle, Beaver Dam, WI 53916 • 920-885-4050 [email protected] (term to 12/09)Director Fred Craig, 807 Judith Ct. Holmen, WI 54636 • 608/526-2221 [email protected] (term to 12/09)Director Terry Glanzman, W6750 Hemlock Rd., Mondovi, WI 54755 • (715) 875-4771 (term to 12/10)Sherman Griffin, retiredDirector, Sue Hall, 200 Pine Bluff Rd., Stevens Point, WI 54481 • 715/344-8081, [email protected] (term to 12/09)Director Ellen Lafouge, 9154 N. Fielding Rd.., Bayside, WI 53127 • 414/352-6697; [email protected] (term to 12/10)Director Leif Marking, W7917 Co. Hwy. ZB, Onalaska, WI 54650 • 608/781-0323 • [email protected] (term to 12/09)Director Patrick Ready, 1210 Oakwood Ct., Stoughton, WI 53589 • 608/873-1703 • [email protected] (term to 12/09)Claire Romanak, 7175 Nehrbass Rd.; Athens, WI 54411; 715-257-1905; [email protected] (Term to 12/10):Director, Jerry Schoen, 682 Foxglove Lane, Whitewater, WI 53190 • 262-473-7189 • [email protected] (term to 12/10)Director, Toni Wanserski, 7315 Hwy. 66, Custer, WI 54423 • [email protected] (term to 12/10)

Appointed officers And committee chAirpersons:Data Collection and Analysis: Dr. Kent D. Hall, Coordinator, 200 Pine Bluff Rd., Stevens Point 54481 • 715/344-8081 [email protected]; Data Analysis: Dr. Peter Dunn, Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology, UW-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee 53201 • 414/229-2253; [email protected] County Coordinator Chair: Joe Schultz (see above)Funding: Mike Helgren (see above)WI Bluebird Editor: Patrick Ready, (see above)Membership: Sue Schultz, 5221 Cheryl’s Dr., Plover, WI 54467 • 715/341-5521 • [email protected] Box Designs: Leif Marking, (see above)Public Relations: Ellen Lafouge, (see above)Student and Youth Outreach Committee: Co-Chairpersons: Lowell Peterson, 1860 45th St., Somerset, WI 54025 • 715/247-3243; and, Mary Holleback, 720 Madison St., West Bend, WI 53095-4136 • 262/335-9843Ornithological Consultants (Volunteers) Dr. Peter Dunn, Biology Dept., UM-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 • 414/229-2253 [email protected] and Dr. Linda Whittingham, Biology Dept., UM-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 • 414/229-2252 [email protected]

BRAW Liaisons:Bur. Of Endangered Res. Liaison: Sumner Matteson, DNR, 101 S. Webster St. PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53701 • 608-266-1571WSO Liaison: William P. Mueller, 1242 S. 45 St. Milwaukee, WI 53214 • (414) 643-7279 • [email protected]


[ ] $15 to nest box construction with post & predator guard

[ ] $100 for nest box trail [ ] In addition to my membership contribution, I wish to

contribute: $___________(Contributions to BRAW are tax deductible)

Check appropriate boxes:[ ] This is a renewal.[ ] This is a new subscription[ ] This is a GIFT subscription.Enclosed please find my check $ _____________

Mail this membership/subscription request to: BRAW, Inc. c/o Sue Schultz 5221 Cheryl’s Dr. Plover, WI 54467

Subscription/Membership contribution: [ ] $15 Individual [ ] $25 Family Annual [ ] $300 Life Membership [ ] $100 Corporate Annual

Print clearly

Name: _______________________________________

Address: _____________________________________

City: ________________________________________

State: ____________________Zip Code: ___________

Email Address: ________________________________

Telephone: ( ) ______________________________

County of residence: __________________________

Wisconsin Bluebird Subscription and BRAW, Inc. MembershipYes! I would like to renew my membership with the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Inc. and receive its newsletter Wisconsin Bluebird. Enclosed is my check/money order (do not send cash) made out to BRAW, Inc. for the following:

Please note: This form appears in this newsletter as a convenience for all who wish to obtain membership. Membership renewals are due as of January 1 each year. The BRAW, Inc. bylaws stipulate that the winter issue (December issue) of Wisconsin Bluebird newsletter of the new year will be the last issue sent if your membership is not renewed before the Spring issue is printed.


Species Bluebird Nesting Attempts Tree House Black-capped * First Second Third Swallow Wren Chickadee

All Nest Attempts: Number of nests in which at least one egg was laid.

Egg Count: Total number of eggs laid for all nests, including those that don’t hatch.

Hatchlings: Total number of eggs hatched for all nests.

Fledglings: Number of young birds that fledged from all nests.

Successful Nest Attempts: Number of nests in which at least one young bird fledged from a nest (Often is less than all nest attempts)

* First nesting attempt in all boxes in which at least one bluebird egg is laid (then second nesting attempt then third nesting attempt). Nest attempts without eggs are not to be entered. Note: All five lines of data must be included in the Form 21 report in order for it to be included in the final Annual Report for BRAW.

ANNUAL BIRD NESTING SURVEY SUMMARY The 2007 Annual Nesting Survey eliminated spacing and box type. The BRAW Board still considers spacing (100 yards+) and box type (see below) important, but many monitors told us it was difficult to interpret what data was wanted, so we changed the form and asked for 1st, 2nd & 3rd broods. Unfortunately, this request was also difficult to interpret. So, to assure accurate collection of data in 2008 and beyond, the BRAW Board has changed the form again. This time we are asking for nesting attempts instead of broods. Each bluebird nesting attempt with eggs is recorded sequentially, regardless of whether it/they fledged young. We ask that you provide complete data (including eggs and hatchlings). Otherwise the report will not be included in the BRAW Annual Report. BRAW monitors are expected to collect data from each of the songbirds below and to protect their nests.

Please return this completed form by September 1 to BRAW, Inc., c/o Dr. Kent Hall, 200 Pine Bluff Rd., Stevens Point, WI 54481.

Any reports received after Oct. 10 will not be included in the Annual Report.

Name ___________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

City _______________________State_______Zip_______________

Telephone (_______) - ____________

Email Address: __________________________________________County where boxes are located? ________________________Use a separate Survey Summary form for Each County.

Total Boxes Presented: (Sum of used & unused)

IMPORTANT: Number of boxes with no nests during the current season:

Number of boxes with at least one bluebird egg laid in them:

Number of boxes in with a House Sparrow Nest:

Type of mounting system used: _____ T-shaped fence post ____ U-shaped fence post ____ Conduit/RebarDo you use predator protection for your mounting system? _____ PVC _____ Aluminum _____ Other _____ None____ The U.S.F.W.S. guidelines for active nests were followed while monitoring the nests of all songbird species

during my/our study.

BRAW Form 21Revised 1-08

NABS style Peterson K-box

YEAR __________

Many box types are being used by Wiscon-sin bluebirders. But only the following box types had averages above the 3.5 bluebird fledglings per box for the 2006 season: K-Box, NABS-Style and Peterson.

Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin


BRAW management practices that are thought to have improved Eastern Bluebird production on the Audubon and other Bluebird Trails.

www.braw.org

Location, Location, Location:1) Need a territorial forage area of 1-3 acres of predominantly open habitat2) Ideal sites: short, sparse grass with interspersed trees: cemeteries, golf courses, parks, roadsides, bike trails,

RR tracks3) Boxes should be totally exposed to sunlight from sunrise until noon; thereafter, shading is permissable4) Perch sites: a) One or more trees (10’+ ideal) right in front or to one side of nest box (most hunting starts on a perch and these trees are vital for use as

survival perches when chicks first fledge) b) Fences (barbed, electric, wooden) c) Electrical wires (no more than 30’ high preferred), clothes lines5) Noisy sites okay (interstates, other roadways, railroads, temporary air shows, church picnics)6) Roadways with limited traffic can be ideal nest box sites and adults and young chicks are rarely killed by traffic.

Relocation:1) Change the nest box position if there has been no bluebird nesting attempt in a season OR2) Change by the end of the following April (75-90% of nest boxes have been occupied by bluebirds by then); if no nesting has

occurred by the end of April your 2nd nesting season, it is sign that your site is unappealing to bluebirds. But moving them to better nest sites still gives you a 50:50 chance of occupancy for the season.

Box Style/Dimensions:1) In ‘the wild”, bluebirds prefer to occupy old woodpecker holes that are not usually very large2) Shallow, narrow boxes work best: a) 4-5” below the bottom of the hole as maximum depth b) 4 x 4”, 4 x 5” nesting platform (inside dimensions)3) No vents or keep vents closed until June 1 to prevent windchill from killing eggs and/or chicks4) Oval hole small enough to keep out starlings & cowbirds5) Don’t use predator guards on box fronts (too thick for bluebirds) or perches on boxes (used by predator birds such as sparrows & kestrels).

Instead, use a predator guard on your mounting post or make the mounting post your predator guard (3/4” electrical conduit preferred).

Spacing:1) Space no closer than 100-200 yards (1-3 acre territories); encourages Tree Swallow occupation if boxes are placed closer than this2) Pairing reduces bluebird and increases swallow production/box

Nest, Egg & Chick Removal for bluebirds, chickadees, Tree Swallows (1,2,3) and House Wrens (4): Procedures approved by USFWS in Dec., 20061) Partial or complete nests w/o eggs: 1st week; 2nd ,3rd ,4th weeks, no change, then remove; restart week count if more building occurs; if wet,

remove, replace with dry, coarse grass or pine needles (white pine preferred)2) Eggs, full clutch in week 1; if do not hatch in 2nd ,3rd or 4th week, place back of fingers on eggs; if cold to touch, remove nest and eggs3) Chicks starving/lethargic: foster into nests with chicks of similar age, + or - 2 days [place with slightly younger, if possible]: 85% reared by

adoptive parents in a 4-year study by the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society in central WI4) House Wrens only: The first week leave partial or complete nests in tact. If still no egg nest cup the 2nd week destroy dummy nest. Repeat if

necessary. If egg cup or eggs are found in the 2nd week allow natural cycle to continue.

Predator Guard on Mounting Pole/Post:1) Do not put boxes on wooden fence or electrical posts. The cheapest and most convenient mounting system uses 3/4” electrical conduit. Cut

10’ conduit to 6’-8” lengths. Flatten 4” at end and bury 18” of conduit. To the remaining 5’ conduit attach two 3/4” clamps and screw to box. Two 3/4” pieces can be joined with a coupler to make a 6’-8” post.

2) House Sparrow predation: No nest box has proven to be sparrow proof (PVC/K-boxes work for some monitors)

Direction of Opening:1) Keep away from prevailing westerly winds (cools boxes)2) Use the same direction for all boxes3) Cornell University has determined that directing the opening of a nest box to the northeast,

east or southeast improves the fledging rate of Eastern Bluebirds in northern latitudes. Apparently, boxes pointed in that direction, heat up more quickly in the mornings in cold weather but do not collect as much heat from a southern exposure in summer.


Individual Nestbox Weekly Field RecordBluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Inc.

Name

Mailing address

City _______________________________________________________

State __________________________ Zip ___________________

Phone ( ) ____________________

Location of box ______________________________________________(including distance from reference points)

Year _____________

Height of hole: _______(distance to ground in nearest 1/2 foot)

County

Box design name(See sketches on back of form for some of the most productive box designs)

Box support (circle one): 1. T metal post 2. U metal post 3. Conduit rebar 4. Other (list) ______________________________

Was a predator guard used on this box? (circle one) 1. PVC tube 2. Rain gutter 3. stove pipe 4. Other (list) _____________

Habitat (circle best description): 1. Grassland 2. Pasture 3. Orchard 4. Fence row 5. Cultivated field 6 Forest edge

7. Suburban 8. Building site 9. Wetland Other _____________________________

Comments: (Condition of young, parasites, predation, banding, future box repair, encroachment of woody vegetation, observation, etc.)

____ The U.S.F.W.S. guidelines for active nests were followed while monitoring the nests of all songbird species during my/our study.

Please send in your data on a BRAW Form 21 by September 1 to: Kent D. Hall, Ph. D., 200 Pine Bluff Rd. Stevens Point, WI 54481

Form 22 - Individual Nestbox Weekly Field Record (Revised 1/07)

Date of

visit

Checkmade

by

Is nestpresent

Numberof

eggs

Est.date ofhatch

Numberof

young

Numberfledged

Birdspecies

Box Number

FORM 22


Comments: (Condition of young, parasites, predation, banding, future box repair, encroachment of woody vegetation, observation, etc.)

Date of

visit

Checkmade

by

Is nestpresent

Numberof

eggs

Est.date ofhatch

Numberof

young

Numberfledged

Birdspecies

K-box NABS style Peterson

Instructions: Consolidate your data at the end of the nesting season from this BRAW, Inc. Form 22, Individual Nestbox Weekly Record and enter it on the Annual Bluebird Nesting Survey Summary Form 21. Send your summarized data by September 1 to Dr. Kent Hall, 200 Pine Bluff Rd., Stevens Point, WI 54481.

Many box types are being used by Wisconsin bluebirders. But only the following box types had averages above the 3.5 bluebird fledglings per box for the 2008 season: K-Box, NABS-Style and Peterson.

Form 22 - Individual Nestbox Weekly Field Record (Revised 1/07)

Additional Comments:

Wisconsin Bluebird • Volume 24, Number 1 • Spring 2009Published by the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Inc.Editor, Designer, PhotographerPatrick Ready, 1210 Oakwood Ct., Stoughton, WI 53589608-873-1703 • [email protected] Wisconsin Bluebird is published quarterly by the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Inc. (BRAW) 1210 Oakwood Ct., Stoughton, WI 53589. Subscription price is included in mem-bership dues. Subscriptions, renewals and address changes should be sent to Sue Schultz, 5221 Cheryl’s Dr., Plover, WI 54467. Issues are dated Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Deadlines for submissions to the editor are due the 15th of January, April, July, and October.Contact the Wisconsin Bluebird newsletter editor for reprint permission of any material printed in the Wisconsin Bluebird. Patrick Ready: 608-873-1703 • [email protected]

The mission and purpose of the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Inc. is to monitor and increase the production of Eastern Bluebirds and other native cavity nesters through a coordinated statewide nest box construction and monitoring program.

Welcome Spring – Welcome The Birds Come to the 5th Nest Box Seminar to be held at the Beaver Dam Senior Center, on Saturday, March 14, 2009. The Dodge County Coordinator for the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW) has organized the seminar to be host-ed by the Beaver Dam Senior Center (114 E. Third Street) from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Admission to the event is FREE!Schedule:9:30a.m. – Patrick Ready- Bluebirds and other Cavity Nesters!0:00a.m. – Open House of displays begins11:00 a.m. – Barb Harvey, a local raptor rehabilitator, will show live cav-

ity nesting raptors and describe their plight in the modern environment. Children will be especially interested in this presentation.

12:00 noon - LUNCH BREAK – time to eat and visit displays1:00 p.m. – Mariette Nowak, former director of the Wehr Nature Center

in Milwaukee and author of Birdscaping in the Midwest will talk about making your backyard attractive to native birds by creating their natural habitat. Her book will be available for purchase.

2:30 p.m. – Larry Vine – Larry is director of the Marsh Haven Nature Center and will speak on the successful Purple Martin col-ony at Marsh Haven Nature Center and will speak on the successful Purple Martin colony Marsh Haven developed by Tony Oechsner.

For further information, contact Jack Bartholmai (Dodge Co. BRAW Coordinator) at (920)887-1505 ([email protected]) or the Beaver Dam Senior Center at (920)887-4639

Sialia Journals Available Will ship to the first to respond, one (1) complete set (72 issues) of "Sialia" the journal of the North American Bluebird Soci-ety for the years of 1979 through 1997 for $30.00 (includes S&H).Send request or check to:Carol McDaniel14953 Hwy 23 Darlington, WI 53530


Lafayette County Bluebird Spring Meeting SetThe Lafayette County Bluebird Society will hold a spring meet-ing on April 4th from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Darlington Elemen-tary School in the Large Group Room in Darlington.Program highlights will include:• Keeping up the bluebirds-how

you can accommodate and protect the growing numbers of Eastern Bluebirds.

• Introduction of the “Purple Martin Project” in Lafayette County. Learn how you can become a Purple Martin Land-lord.

• Nest boxes and mounting systems suitable for bluebirds will be available for sale.

For more information contact: Carol McDaniel 608-776-3379 or email at [email protected].

April 8The Status of Eastern Bluebirds in Wisconsin, presented by Pat Ready, Madi-son Audubon Society and Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin.Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, Bayside, WI 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. What habitat do bluebirds prefer? What do they eat and where do they find their food? Where is the best place to put a nest box? What size and shape nest box do they need? How high should it be placed and what direction should it face? What does it take to become a bluebird trail monitor? Join us to learn the do’s and don’ts of attracting and helping our Wisconsin bluebirds.

April 18Attracting Bluebirds and Cavity Nesters, presented by Pat ReadyMadison Audubon Society and Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin.1:45 - 2:15, Bird Fest Migrates to the Domes - Mitchell Domes, Milwaukee

Spring is coming!Time to get your nest

boxes ready.

NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 1027MADISON, WI

Bluebird Restoration Association of WisconsinSue Schultz, Membership Chair5221 Cheryl’s Dr., Plover, WI 54467www.braw.org

The Big Blue EggBy Leif Marking Jim Solberg, a news reporter, requested to come along with me on one of my monitoring trips to learn a little bit more about bluebirds, monitoring, and other birds that use our nest boxes. We started to check boxes near West Salem WI, and found and recorded five beautiful bluebird eggs in each of the first two boxes, which was very exciting for Jim. I knew the next box had seven chickadee eggs on my last check, so when Jim inspected the nest he reported a complete hatch. The adult birds perched in a small apple tree nearby scolding us as we removed the nest so Jim could take some photos of the maggot-sized newborns. We replaced the nest, and the parents returned to the box before we left the scene. I gathered that Jim was intrigued with this monitoring activity so I asked him to check the next box so I could stay in the vehicle and save my energy. As he returned, he reported six bluebird eggs. However one was extra large like it had a double yoke. I

quizzed him on how large. His description suggested it was too large for a bluebird egg. Then I had to go check for myself. I had already informed him that our 1 3/8 inch-wide oval entry restricted starlings, blue jays, and most cowbirds. My observation was the large blue egg was that of a starling, although the blue color was amazingly similar to the bluebird’s eggs. But Jim was leery about that idea because our restricted entry size prevents them from getting in. I explained that I had removed starling eggs and nest material recently from a wood duck box on a nearby pond, and this large blue egg was identical to those I removed. So how did the starling get into the bluebird box? Then I noticed a woodpecker, who apparently preferred round holes to oval ones, had attacked the entry

hole. The hole was nearly 2 inches wide in this one-year-old cedar NABS-style house. Apparently the starling was egg bound and had to relieve herself in the nearest safe cavity. I was so thrilled to observe that the starling had not harmed the bluebird eggs. This incident exemplified to me the kindness of mother birds to other bird’s reproduction.

I was concerned that a starling might return and destroy the bluebird eggs so after our monitoring trip I returned to the scene with a new substitute box. The female bluebird left the box and watched from a nearby corn stalk as I placed the nest with six eggs in the newly mounted box. As I prepared to leave with the old box in my car the female anxiously entered her new home. I took the old box home, replaced the entry panel, and returned to the scene. Once again the female watched as I replaced the original box, placed the nest inside, removed the starling egg, and watched from a little distance as she reclaimed her home. Bluebirds are so charming when you invade their territory that one must think they comprehend that you are helping them. So how did this pair of bluebirds show their appreciation? Well, all of the eggs hatched, and all the nestlings fledged. I can share another intimate experience with bluebirds.

24 Spring 2009

Documents

WB_Spring_2009