Designed with either a wire cage or plexi-glass windows with entry and exits, the holes are sized the same as a bluebird birdhouse entrance. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130(3):708-715.Bluebirds are one of few species who will fly-in a mealworm feeder for worms. The influence of weather and parental provisioning on fledging success depends on nest box type in a cavity-nesting passerine, the Mountain Bluebird ( Sialia currucoides). Not only that, but it’s a win-win when we can get students involved in working directly with citizen scientists and analyzing these data sets.” The most important take-away here is the importance of these long-term data sets and how critical they are for scientists and academics to partner with citizen science groups. Matthew Reudink agrees, saying, “This trail goes back over 30 years, and we’ve been working with the naturalist club since 2011. The authors recommend the use of nest boxes with round entrance holes over those with slotted entrances.Ī Community Collaboration Home On The RangeĪ male and female Mountain Bluebird survey their territory.Īt NestWatch, we believe there will always be friendly debate over what makes the best nest box, but one thing is never in question: the importance of citizen science! If not for a group of citizen science nest monitors, this study wouldn’t have been possible.For slotted boxes, no one factor seemed to predict success. For hole boxes, temperature and feeding rate affected fledging success.Complete nest failure was more common in slot boxes, potentially due to more exposure to the elements.Hatching success and first egg date were unaffected by box type.Birds nesting in round-hole boxes had significantly better fledging success.Birds nesting in round-hole boxes produced significantly more eggs.While selection does not always equal preference (birds may not be able to obtain their first choice), there was no strong evidence that bluebirds preferred either box type. There was no difference in selection based on age or body size. Bluebirds chose boxes in proportion to their availability (slot entrances were less common).They were able to use 280 nests from 101 boxes over 4 years nest boxes did not have predator guards, and were similar in all aspects other than entrance hole style. The study’s authors designed a series of analyses which included variables accounting for male and female age, direction the nest box faced, distance to the nearest tree, distance to the nearest Mountain Bluebird and Tree Swallow nests, elevation, year, percentage of tree cover, mean temperature during the nestling period, total rainfall during the nestling period, feeding rate, and a few other potentially-interacting variables that might explain fledging success. Their study system includes a large bluebird trail monitored by a group of citizen scientists from the Kamloops Naturalist Club. It is one of many boxes monitored by a group of citizen scientists. House Hunters: British ColumbiaĪ female Mountain Bluebird perches above her nest box in British Columbia. They were looking for ways in which weather and parental feeding rates influenced nest success, but what they found was that this depended largely upon which nest box design was used. But recently, researchers from British Columbia, Canada, decided to investigate differences between round and slotted entrances in a study of Mountain Bluebirds (Leroux et al. There are so many varieties of nest boxes that evaluating them all is a daunting task. Unfortunately, research on nest box design has not kept pace with the popularization of different styles. Detractors point out that it could expose the nest to more predators. The slot entrance is also easier to make, as it does not require drilling a hole. A wide slot for an entrance is said to attract bluebirds while being something of a deterrent to House Sparrows, a non-native bird which competes for nest boxes. And while the situation has not quite reached Hatfield-McCoy level feuding, the debate does get heated for some. Where to nest, what to eat, with whom to mate.understanding their perspective helps us make better conservation choices.īluebird enthusiasts have been known to debate the merits of round versus slot-shaped entrances for nest boxes for years. It may sound silly, but birds make decisions all the time. Sarah Leroux by Robyn Bailey, NestWatch Project Leader A better box? Which one is right for me? Round Versus Slot Entrances: New Study Says “Go Round” Photo ©
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