May 11, 2019 – Meadow Birds

Bluebirds and Swallows

If you have walked along the paths traversing the Lumberton meadow you have probably seen a number of nesting boxes which are erected to attract cavity nesting birds like the Eastern Bluebird. Bluebirds often evoke a nostalgic vision of a rural past of farm fields and open grassy areas. Bluebirds like this open country with a few scattered trees, where they can perch and keep an eye on their nests.

As more and more open spaces disappeared the Bluebird went into a deep decline, but an all-out effort to save them was launched several decades ago. Volunteers set up nest boxes along “Bluebird Trails” to attract birds and provide them with safe nesting areas. The hard work of these volunteers and amateurs was a phenomenal success, bringing Bluebirds from endangered to thriving populations.

Eastern Bluebird is a strikingly beautiful bird that is bright blue above with a reddish brown throat and chest, and white belly. The male and female are patterned the same way but the female is considerably duller blue. There are three Bluebird species in North America. Our Eastern Bluebird is the most widespread, from the east coast to Texas, and north to the Dakotas and southern Canada. Mountain Bluebird and Western Bluebird inhabit the more western parts of the country. All Bluebirds feed on insects and berries (especially in winter).

Bluebirds lay 4 or 5 pale blue eggs, which are incubated mostly by the female; they usually average two broods per season. We are currently trying to attract more Bluebirds to our meadow and are experimenting with our placement of the boxes to find the best configuration for the birds.

However, other birds also find these nest boxes desirable, and will take up residence in place of the more reticent Bluebird. House Sparrows, House Wrens and Tree Swallows often make their nests in the boxes. In our meadow, Tree Swallow is the major competitor of the Bluebird, and you will often see them soaring over the meadow and sitting atop some of the boxes they may be using for nests. The Tree Swallow is more aggressive than the more solitary Bluebird and often out-competes it for nest space. So it is important to keep tabs on the boxes, monitor what is going on and if necessary “evict” an undesirable nester (mainly House Sparrows).

Even though we would like more Bluebirds, the competing Tree Swallows are also very attractive and acrobatic birds. The adult males are dark above (glossy blue or green) and brilliant white below. The female is more grayish above. It is our most abundant swallow. They are among the earliest of the swallows to arrive in Spring migration, and the last to leave in the Fall. In the Fall they flock in enormous numbers along the coast as they gather to begin the migration. Unlike other swallows a good percentage of their diet is plant material, particularly Bayberry, and this enables some of them to winter along the Jersey Shore.

Text and Photographs by Robert Koch

Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve

May 11, 2019 – Meadow Birds

Bluebirds and Swallows