My window on the world is much narrower than many on the list serv, but it has
also been my observation that there are many fewer Bluebirds here than in past
years. I see one or two hunting from power lines, but don’t think any of my
boxes are being used by Bluebirds this year. I have a dozen Bluebird size nest
boxes spaced all over the farm + 2 Wood Duck boxes + 5 boxes of varying sizes
in 3 different barns. Kestrels used one of those and one other barn box is in
current use.
Frank Lyne
frank@xxxxxxxxxxx - near Dot in Logan County, KY
On Jun 14, 2021, at 12:55 PM, Bob Peak (Redacted sender "mtman1" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I wish I had better news to share, Brainard, but things are not looking very
good for nesting bluebirds in our part of the state. We haven't
"run-the-numbers" from our field sheets at this point, but after 32 years of
monitoring, we have an intuitive feel for things, and we can tell nest box
occupancy is way, way down. (Judy is getting very tired of writing "empty"
on the field sheets.) It appears the Polar Vortex Effect in Feb., 2021
killed a LOT of bluebirds in western KY. Our long-term goal is to maintain a
core population of bluebirds to permit the "bounce-back" you described, and
we remain hopeful the surviving birds will respond accordingly. After
several consecutive years of increases in bluebird fledgling numbers, we were
anticipating a possible record-breaking year in 2021, but current
circumstances bring us back to the old saying, "Don't count your bluebirds
until they've hatched---and fledged."
On the positive side, we seem to be experiencing an uptick in Prothonotary
Warbler nests (Carolina Chickadees, too) this year, and as you know, the
PROWs need a lot more help than bluebirds at this point. After the 2014-2015
ice storms, we saw a comparable increase in the smaller species, so we're
thankful the little guys are getting a chance this year.
Stay tuned...
Cordially,
Bob (and Judy) Peak
Trigg County, KY
On Monday, June 14, 2021, 9:52:07 AM CDT, brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This morning I opened a window to let in some of the refreshing air and a
Yellow-throated Vireo was singing out in the back yard. One has not been
around since 11 May (Jackie Elmore heard one on another part of the farm but
I had missed it) so I wonder about its story? Late migrant, early migrant,
wanding breeder or post breeder? ? ?
Over the past several days, our farm -- which was heretofore not inhabited by
many periodical cicadas -- has seen a remarkable increase in the number of
the orange-and- black beasts. Yesterday afternoon there was quite the din of
singing, especially on the west side of the farm. I wonder if these are
insects dispersing out of the areas to our west 2-3 miles away that have been
buried by them over the past few weeks? ? ?
Yesterday I ran my fourth BBS route of the season. It is clear from the
results of those surveys that Eastern Bluebirds did take quite a hit during
the late winter season. I look forward to (just for the sake of good
documentation, not the anticipated bad news) a report of results of nest
monitoring by Bob and Judy Peak. Good thing about bluebirds is that they
always seem to rebound pretty quickly. I was glad to hear three Grasshopper
Sparrows and a Henslow's Sparrow yesterday on the route (Taylor County). I've
missed them on the other two routes I've done with grassland habitat this
year. It seems to me that these two species have declined again over the past
several years after having been increasingly numerous over the prior decade
or two.
bpb, Louisville
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