February 2006

TOPIC:  The Status of Eastern Bluebirds in Wisconsin

SPEAKER:  Pat Ready

WHEN:  Tuesday, February 21

TIME:  7:00 pm Refreshments
TIME:  7:30 pm Program

WHERE:  NEW LOCATION: Room 184, Russell Laboratories, 1630 Linden Drive, Across from Babcock Hall, UW-Madison

PARKING:  Lot 36 on Observatory Drive, west of Steenbock Library

Map:  Map of Russel Labs and Lot 36

Note: watch for detour signs or see the construction map

PRE-MEETING DINNER:  You are invited to join Madison Audubon board members and friends at the pre-program dinner with our speaker at Paisan's Restaurant beginning at 5:15.

QUESTIONS?:  Please call the MAS office at (608)255-2473.

When was the last time you saw an Eastern Bluebird? Want to see more of them? Join us to learn the do’s and dont’s of attracting bluebirds.

After WWII, the U.S. bluebird population started to drop. Nest sites were lost as wooden fence posts were replaced with metal ones. House Sparrows and European Starlings competed with bluebirds for nesting spaces. Pollution and pesticides took their toll.

In the 1970s people started to find ways to reverse the downward trend. People living in rural areas were encouraged to put up nest boxes. Results were mixed, with some bluebird recovery. More questions had to be answered. What habitat do Bluebirds prefer? What do they eat and where? Where is the best place to put a nest box? What size and shape nest box do they need? How high should it be placed? Time, trial and error, and compilation and publication of reported successes and failures over several years helped to find some answers.

In 1986 the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW) was born. For the past 20 years this organization has compiled facts and results from members to determine what was and wasn’t working and how bluebirds were doing statewide.

Patrick Ready, a member of BRAW and editor of the Wisconsin Bluebird newsletter monitors four Eastern Bluebird nest box trails in Dane County for the Madison Audubon Society. He will tell us of the trials and tribulations of being a “Trail Boss” as he presents the latest information about the bluebird recovery program. His slides will take us through the life cycle of the Eastern Bluebird with many photos from local MAS trails. Learn facts and fiction plus some surprises that trail monitors have found while checking boxes.

He will have several nest boxes to give away at the meeting. The boxes can also attract tree swallows, chickadees and house wrens.