{"id":2814,"date":"2023-07-18T15:58:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T20:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/naturallands\/?page_id=2814"},"modified":"2024-02-12T11:20:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T17:20:43","slug":"bluebird-trail","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/naturallands\/bluebird-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluebird Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An adult bluebird resting on a barbed wire fence (photo: Gene Bakko)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The Bluebird Trail, referring to all of the bird boxes throughout the Natural Lands, began in 1993 when Biology major Dawna Wright, working under the guidance of Gene Bakko, crafted and established 40 nest boxes (Peterson style) across the Natural Lands. Since their establishment, the nest boxes have seen successful fledges each year, supporting Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis<\/em>) along with various other native species. The trail has had up to 64 boxes, which allowed 50-80 bluebirds to fledge each year. The number of successful bluebirds and boxes has varied throughout the years. As the nest boxes have been repaired and replaced, the box styles used on the bluebird trail have slowly shifted to Gilwood and S22-style nest boxes. The boxes are monitored in early spring and throughout the summer by Natural Lands Technicians, who record data including nest type, number of eggs, number of chicks, and the species of bird residing inside. Our bluebird data are sent to the Bluebird Recovery Program of Minnesota<\/a> and\u00a0North American Bluebird Society<\/a> every year. These organizations conduct long-term information studies on this species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n