Many of you may remember the large red oak tree by the pumphouse that fell during a storm last spring….
The two logs pictured below were milled onsite into 1″ lumber by a local sawyer, and we stored the wood at the maintenance facility to air-dry.
This winter, we started building bluebird houses out of this red oak lumber on very cold mornings. We also plan to build a few wood duck nesting boxes as well. We hope to start placing them on the golf course by spring. After all, golf courses provide community green spaces that offer not just recreational opportunities for people, but key sanctuaries and habitat for wildlife. So far, we have built 30 houses, and plan to build more as time allows.
Bluebirds are territorial and will usually not allow another pair to nest in the approximately 2 acres they claim as their own. A good understanding of the breeding cycle of bluebirds is essential to developing a management program that will help to insure that the bluebirds using these houses will be successful in raising their families. We hope to be able to monitor activity on a consistent basis, clean out the houses after each season, and establish a record-keeping system to gauge the success of our project. Also, pest and predator issues must be addressed as they arise. This will take time, though, and I encourage anyone that is interested in birding/bird-watching to assist with the monitoring and management of these houses.
Bluebirds will use tree holes and other cavities of a variety of sizes and shapes, but studies have shown that they prefer nest holes that are generally 4 X 4 to 5 X 5 by about 8 inches deep. Here is a link to the house plan we used.
If anyone (birdlovers, members, residents, local groups) is interested in helping with our Bluebird project, please feel free to contact me. Hopefully, we will see a significant increase in the Eastern Bluebird population (and fewer insects) on the golf course in the coming years!
Cypress Lakes Agronomy 