Bluebird Trail

In the spring of 2012 we became bluebird landlords and monitors, putting up a pair of nestboxes on our property and volunteering to monitor several other sites, for a total of 16 nestboxes as of mid-April. (We subtracted a couple of boxes but added four for a total of 18 as of mid-May.) Around the start of May we also agreed to start monitoring a trail of four additional nestboxes in another part of the area. If you would like to follow the adventures of our bluebird trail, follow the links in the bulleted list below or simply click here to display all posts with the tag "bluebirds."

We support and recommend the Bluebird Recovery Program of Minnesota, which offers many resources to people interested in putting up and monitoring bluebird houses. Their Top Ten Tips for Successful Bluebirding is a great place to start [note: this link was outdated but is now working again].

Another terrific resource is the bluebird-focused website Sialis.org. We have also been consulting Bluebird Trails - A Guide to Success by Dorene H. Scriven, published by the Bluebird Recovery Committee of the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis. And The Bluebird Guy is a good overview by another Northfield-area bluebird enthusiast.

Follow our adventures:

2015

• 2015 Bluebird Trail (May 3)

2014

• 2014 First Report (May 4)

2013

• 2013 First Report (May 6)
• First Eggs (May 22)
• Bluebirds and Tree Swallows (nestlings and first fledging) (June 28)
• Fledging and Starting Again (July 1)
• Afternoon Bluebird - and Season Update (July 21)

2012

• Starting Our Bluebird Trail
• Bluebird Trail, Week One - First nests
• Bluebird Trail, Week Two (Part 1) - Delight and Sorrow - Our first loss, and our first eggs
• Bluebird Trail, Week Two (Part 2) - Eight eggs in two nests
• Bluebird Expo and Bluebird Trail, Week Three - 18 eggs in four nests; three nests incubating
• Bluebird Trail, Week Four - Four nestlings and 19 eggs in five nests; one nest mostly hatched, three nests incubating
• First Nestlings at Day 3 - midweek report
• Bluebird Trail, Week Five - Pink Eggs, Tree Swallows and More - 15 nestlings in three nests; three nests incubating
• Bluebird Nestlings at Day 8
• Bluebird Trail, Week Six - 20 Nestlings!
• Bluebird Trail, Week 7 - Mom on Nest, First Fledging and Tree Swallow Eggs - 25 nestlings on Trail 1, 5 more on Trail 2; first brood of 5 (included in the 25) has fledged. Tree swallow activity picks up, and wrens start to appear.
• Bluebird Trail, Week 8-9 - Tree Swallows & House Wrens - 30 bluebirds have fledged, 5 new bluebird eggs and some new nests this week. 6 tree swallow nestlings and 5 more nests with eggs. 2 house wren nests with eggs.
• Bluebird Trail, Week 13 - Fledging Tree Swallows
• Bluebird Trail: End-of-season Recap: 64 bluebirds fledged!