KFN BLUEBIRD NESTING BOX TRAIL - PAST AND PRESENT

The Eastern Bluebird is a member of the thrush family and a species native to North America. It prefers to be on the edge of open areas, nesting in natural cavities. The pioneering methods of early settlers were very important to this bird's success in the area. They were commonly sighted in large numbers and well established by the early 1900's.

Beginning in the 1950's however, agricultural methods started to change which eliminated many of the nesting cavities critical to the bird's survival. Dead trees were removed, rail fences replaced by steel and wire and the steady decline of bluebird populations had begun. By the mid 1970's Eastern Bluebirds were seldom heard or seen and reduced to the point of becoming an endangered species. Replacing the lost nesting sites was to be a major part of any possible recovery for these birds.

Bill Watts was a member of the Kawartha Field Naturalists and keenly interested in the Eastern Bluebirds' revival. He started building nesting boxes and placed them in suitable habitat around the Fenelon Falls area. The boxes were located along a route easily accessible by foot or vehicle and called a "trail". The route was thereafter called a "Bluebird Nesting Box Trail"!

After the death of Bill Watts, his family asked the Kawartha Field Naturalists to carry on with his project, generously donating his nesting box trail, library of books and financial support to help maintain boxes and build new ones. This was the beginning of the "KFN Bluebird Nesting Box Trail".

The KFN formed a committee, did some research and got busy building nesting boxes. Some existing boxes were replaced with most going to new locations where permission was gained from the landowner. The boxes were monitored and records were tallied and reported to the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society annually.

The KFN membership has been expanding, maintaining and monitoring the trail for more than 10 years now and fledged many young Eastern Bluebirds over that time. The record high year was 1998, fledging 161 birds! The trail expansion has leveled off at approximately 100 boxes monitored each season with an average of 80 to 100 birds being fledged.

The support and participation of the KFN membership is the active ingredient that makes the trail successful year after year. There is some work involved maintaining and monitoring nesting boxes whether it is one in your backyard or a trail with several. It takes time but you will be rewarded with the enjoyment of seeing and hearing an Eastern Bluebird's song and by knowing that you are helping to re-establish this beautiful bird in Ontario.

February 8th, 2008

Good news again - our number of young bluebirds fledged has increased significantly over last year! Better overall weather conditions and food supply favoured successful first nestings. These are a major part of having a successful year. Good nest box maintenance and monitoring practices are equally important and our KFN members do a great job at this. It shows in our trail results! Keep up the good work KFN'ers, we sincerely appreciate it.

Now for the numbers as compared to 2006:

We continue to report our counts to the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society (O.E.B.S.) but are still not receiving any overall results from them. We hope they will become available again soon.

Deer, squirrels, wild turkeys and other regular winter birds have been visiting our backyard but we are really looking forward to seeing a bluebird again. It is only 6-8 weeks before they will be returning to our area! Where did that year go?

Well that wraps up another season. We really enjoy working with everyone on the "trail" and hope to see you out there soon.