It's that time of year again! The first Canada Goose eggs have been laid! Soon, other birds will be following suit!

Currently, we have one house for Purple Martins and 24 nest boxes for Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and other native cavity nesting birds dotting the grounds. All of the boxes have been cleaned out and are ready for new nests. Over the last week or so, the songbirds have really started to choose a nest box and defend their choice from the other birds. That means that soon it will be time to start monitoring the houses!

Eastern Bluebird adding grass to her nest (Photo Credit: Jonathan Morgan)

Twice a week, Sanctuary volunteers walk the grounds and monitor the nest boxes to help the birds have successful nests. The first part of monitoring includes collecting data for the NestWatch program. All over the country, people just like you collect data on when the birds start nesting, how many eggs are laid, and how many hatchlings survive. This data can be used by scientists to learn how bird populations are changing over time.

Volunteer Annette checking one of the nest boxes

The second part of monitoring involves keeping undesirable residents out for the health and survival of both the adults and the young birds. A great example of an undesirable nest box resident is the House Sparrow. House Sparrows are nonnative to North America and were introduced here in the 1850s. One of the major problems with them is that they are very aggressive competitors and will kill native song birds and their chicks and eggs. Frequent monitoring of the nest boxes helps us protect the native cavity nesting birds.

House Sparrow nest

Check out the following websites for more information on how you can monitor your own nest boxes!

NestWatch

Sialis.org Nestbox Monitoring

Purple Martin Conservation Organization

According to the calendar, Spring arrived on March 20^th. According to the birds, Spring arrived only a few days ago! New birds have been spotted almost every day as they either arrive to their summer nesting grounds or stop over on their way farther north.

Wintergreen Lake has been hopping with all kinds of ducks first thing in the morning and in the early evening. Redheads trickled in slowly, one pair at a time, until a flock of 17 spent all morning on the lake! Remember to borrow a pair of binoculars during your visit to the Sanctuary, because otherwise, you might miss out on seeing the Canvasbacks that have been tagging along with the Redheads!

Redheads (Photo Credit: Larry Burdick)

Buffleheads have also shown up on the lake! Sometimes they are in groups of two or three birds while other times they are in groups of ten to fifteen. From a distance, they look almost completely white!

Male Bufflehead (Photo Credit: Larry Burdick)

Every few days, the number of Great Blue Herons in the rookery increases. They can be very difficult to count when they are sitting in their nests, but at least twelve birds have arrived so far. They usually go somewhere else for the middle part of the day, but if that is when you visit, scan the edges of the lake for herons on the ground fishing!

Great Blue Heron (Photo Credit: Larry Burdick)

One of the surest signs of Spring has been the recent arrival of Tree Swallows! These beautiful birds are white underneath with shiny green-blue backs! We have spotted them defending nest boxes from other songbirds!

Tree Swallow (Photo Credit: Larry Burdick)

Other new bird sightings have included Turkey Vultures, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, and a House Finch! Keep your eyes on the eBird Trail Tracker for the most recent bird sightings, and be sure to plan a visit to the Sanctuary for Spring Migration soon!

Over the last few weeks, I have had a unique opportunity to learn about the history of the Bird Sanctuary and its directors. It is fascinating to learn more about the legacy each director has left behind and how their work has contributed to the Sanctuary that we know and love today.

Dr. Miles D. Pirnie, a waterfowl specialist, was the second director of the Sanctuary. During his tenure, he managed to keep the Sanctuary open during the Great Depression, begin tracking waterfowl migration patterns, and engage the public through wildlife photography, extended visiting hours, and educational programs.

Pirnie’s enthusiasm for waterfowl is evident when looking at some of the pictures he took between 1931 and 1948 when he was the Sanctuary’s director. He definitely had an ‘eye’ for photography, and this skill combined with his work with waterfowl was probably very useful when it came to one of Pirnie’s other talents: decoy carving!

A goose silhouette decoy created by Pirnie

According to The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys by Joe Engers, Pirnie began carving decoys in 1935. He created the body of the decoys out of white cedar and the heads out of white pine. In general, his diver duck decoys have a solid body while his dabbling duck decoys have a hollow body. Pirnie’s knowledge of waterfowl helped him create very lifelike decoys. He actually carved his decoys in a variety of poses so that they would look more like a real flock of ducks when he was hunting with them!

A quick internet search turned up pictures of a handful of decoys carved by Pirnie. He created Northern Pintails, Goldeneyes (scroll down about halfway to view), goose silhouettes, Canvasbacks, Redheads, and Bluebills among others. I also learned that some of Pirnie’s carving legacy lives on in the students of Pirnie’s lifelong friend and hunting partner, Ken K. Krum. I was surprised by the number of postings and online forums about Pirnie; it is clear that Pirnie’s decoys as well as the efforts of his work with waterfowl are being enjoyed by people all over the Midwest!

Last Tuesday was an entertaining and educational night at the Sanctuary! Penny Briscoe, a Purple Martin landlord of over 25 years, presented her program titled Purple Martins: Backyard Aerialists. Over the course of an hour, Penny told us about the history of Purple Martins and taught us the basics of becoming a landlord.

Penny’s passion and excitement for this species was apparent from the very beginning of her presentation. The stories she shared about her experiences with Purple Martins were inspiring. She told us about a year when over thirty young Purple Martins were lost due to bad weather and how that tragedy led to her recent success of 160 fledglings! If audience members seemed concerned that they couldn’t make the same kind of commitment to Purple Martins as Penny does, she was quick to remind us all that you can become a Purple Martin landlord on whatever scale you are comfortable with. If that means you monitor three large houses and provide food in bad weather, go for it. If you only have the time to monitor one small house, that is great too. Another aspect of the program that was really enjoyable was the time at the end Penny took to answer questions and speak individually with audience members.

Sanctuary volunteers monitoring the Purple Martin house

If you are interested in Purple Martins and weren't able to make it this great program, you definitely don't want to miss out on the Sanctuary's other Purple Martin program!

Purple Martin Workshop: How to be a good Purple Martin Landlord is taking place this Saturday, March 16^th. This workshop will run from 9am until noon, and you can expect to learn tips and tricks to being a successful Purple Martin landlord. You’ll even be able to get hands-on experience monitoring a martin colony!

For registration and more information, check out the events page of our website or like us on Facebook!