Today we walked around the perimeter of our schoolyard to all the NEW bluebird boxes to see if there were any nests. So far there hadn't been any. Mrs. Putnam and her husband and son put all our bluebird boxes on poles, dug holes, and pounded them into the ground. What a lot of work! Thanks, Putnams!!!!
The poles are skinny, metal, and slippery. Perfect for keeping out predators especially the drated black snake. We found TWO nests. In box 1 we found a completed bluebird nest (in about the location of past nests) but no eggs.
In box 4 we found a "nest" made of a leafy flowery substance. We want to monitor one more week to see what happens and decide what we want to do about it. We will either clean it out or leave it for another native bird species. Anyone have an idea who might be making this "nest"?
Then it was our turn. Mr. Putnam left one box for us to put up. It was pretty easy! The Putnams had already dug the hole for us, we put in the pole, pushed it down, and then used a hole digger (flat side) to make the ground around it push down and support the pole. Done! Box 5 is now in play.