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The Birdhouse NetworkBy Dixie JordanCOPYRIGHT 2007 BY PARENTS' PRESS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.When Karen Nagel of Sonoma checks her 46 nest boxes along Nathanson Creek, near the Nagels' vineyard, it's often her 8-year-old granddaughter Gracie who records the information. Later they will later submit their observations online to The Birdhouse Network at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology. Gracie was only 3 when Nagel first asked her, "Do you want to see some baby birds?" Nagel, always cautious about disturbing nesting birds, thought they would just peek into one box. Gracie was so excited by her first glimpse that she wanted to see them all. This year and last, Gracie and other members of her Scout troop have their own birdhouse project, helping to build and install nest boxes at the Gundlach-Bundschu Winery with the assistance of Nagel and her husband. Installing and monitoring nest boxes is a wonderful way for children to connect with the natural world, Nagel says. The Birdhouse Network (TBN) makes it easy with a kit that includes information on local species of cavity-nesting birds the kinds that use nest boxes and building instructions. It takes only one untreated cedar or pine board and minimal carpentry skills to make a birdhouse. In return, participants are encouraged to monitor their nest boxes and record their observations on downloadable worksheets. The biological effects of nest boxes on bird populations are not well known, and Cornell scientists are using reports from TBN "citizen scientists" to examine factors that affect the success of nesting birds across time and space. They have found, for example, that in northern latitudes, nest boxes facing east or northeast produce more fledglings. The hypothesis is that cavity entrances facing toward the sunrise remain warmer on cold spring mornings, increasing survival rates. In contrast, the orientation of the nest box has no effect in southern latitudes. Birdhouse builders also help native birds that face fierce competition for an ever-decreasing number of suitable nesting places. Still, a birdhouse isn't the right project for every family. "You don't want to set the birds up for failure," Nagel says. "Don't put up nest boxes if you have cats that go outside or cats in the immediate neighborhood. They'll get the baby birds when they first leave the nest." You'll also need to learn how to protect nesting birds from other predators Nagel has a story about her encounter with a "nesting" gopher snake that makes this point and how to monitor birdhouses without disturbing their occupants. TBN offers helpful tips on these topics, too. Trees may seem like a logical place for birdhouses, but they are easy for raccoons, squirrels, and other predators to climb. Nagel switched to metal poles topped with PVC pipe after a raccoon raided five of her nest boxes for a single meal. What birds can you expect to attract to your nest box? In the Sonoma County countryside, Nagel has Western Bluebirds, Oak Titmice, Tree Swallows, Violet-green Swallows, House Wrens, and unexpectedly Asian Mandarin Ducks, which apparently escaped from a winemaker's estate years ago and went native. (Those nest boxes were meant for native Wood Ducks.) Other other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, birdhouses may be used by American Kestrels, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Purple Martins, and Northern Flickers. Two non-native species often found in urban areas, the European Starling and the House Sparrow, also like nest boxes. Ideally, birdhouses should go up in late winter or very early spring in the Bay Area. By the third week of March, 2007, Nagel already had three early-bird Oak Titmouse couples in residence and laying eggs. But even nest boxes installed later in the spring may be useful this year. The birdhouses put up by Gracie and her fellow Scouts last year went in a bit late. "But judging by the layers of bird poop, some of the boxes without nests still got used as safe places to roost at night," Nagel says. To sign up or find out more about The Birdhouse Network, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse or call (800) 843-2473. The project fee is $15. |
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