Nest Box Monitoring

What do a big city fireman, a realtor, a retired rural postal carrier, a corporate trainer, an attorney, two radiology technologists, a social worker, an engineer, and a lay preacher have in common? These folks make up just part of the Nest Box Monitoring Team at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge who are on the job much of the year to build and set-up nest boxes for song birds, monitor the boxes and report data during the nesting season, and then clean and repair the boxes for the following season.

Very early this spring new boxes were added, for a total of 54 nest boxes along three trails at the Refuge, Myers Branch, Meadow Pond and Harris Creek. Box locations were chosen with the habitat preference of Bluebirds, Prothonotary Warblers, Carolina chickadees and Titmice in mind. Currently there are primarily two styles of nest box in use, the Peterson design box and the saltbox. One monitor has donated a specially designed box a unique ventilation design and camera access.

For 2011 the team elected to report data on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, nestwatch.org. Kathy Whaley, Refuge Manager, created monitoring notebooks for each trail with compatible data sheets, coding keys, trail maps and other needed information. Each nest box has a unique number, key in monitoring and reporting; and there is a data sheet for each box on which the monitors enter their findings. Periodically another volunteer enters the data for all three trails on the Cornell website. Another volunteer sends weekly reports and photos of activity in designated boxes to those who adopted nest boxes for the season.

The monitors’ task is to observe nesting activities including whether adult birds are in the area, or even on in the nest box, if a nest is present, for what species and how complete; the number and type of eggs, young, estimated age of young, and estimated date they will fledge. In addition the monitors perform maintenance to keep the boxes habitable and safe for nesting birds. Some of the monitors are expert birders who are helping the less knowledgeable acquire the needed skills.

The Nest Box Monitors are subdivided into two “trail” teams, with members of each trail team rotating monthly to monitor their assigned boxes weekly. Necessary equipment for monitoring includes notebook for recording observations, spatula for removing wasp and other invasive nests, soap to rub on boxes to deter wasp nest-building, observation mirror, assorted tools for opening nest boxes and quick maintenance, camera, insect repellant and binoculars.

Monitors meet monthly as a group to share information and improve skills. Nest Box monitoring is an enjoyable way to see more of the Refuge, learn more about wildlife and meet others who share these interests. For more about volunteering, send your contact information to friendsofhagerman@gmail.com with the subject line Nest Box Monitor.

For more information about the Refuge and the Friends of Hagerman, see http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html, the official website for Hagerman NWR, and http://www.friendsofhagerman.com.

Photo - Young Carolina Chickadees in nest box on Harris Creek Trail, by Nest Box Monitors

Woo-Hoo - Housing Project at Refuge

By Dick & Sue Malnory

The Friends of Hagerman are building nest boxes for Screech Owls, Barn Owls and Barred Owls at Hagerman NWR, with materials provided by the Refuge. A total of eight boxes will be mounted on poles by Grayson Collin Electric Cooperative, when the time comes to move power poles in the construction process for the new building - the power company will donate and install the poles, as well as hang the boxes.

This is a big deal - well, the next boxes are big! The Audubon design for the Screech Owl nest box (http://www.audubonmagazine.org/backyard/backyard0201.html) is approximately 9”x 9” x 20” tall, with a 3” diameter entrance hole. The roof slopes, with an overhang on the front side. For the Barn Owl or the Barred Owl, the box design by Norman Watenpaugh, (http://www.scvas.org/pdf/cbrp/BuildingBarnOwlBoxes.pdf) is approximately 17” x 24” x 22” tall, with a sloping roof. The entrance is rectangular, 6” x 8” and there is a perch.

Four Screech Owl boxes and four Barn/Barred Owl boxes are being built. In order for the Barred Owls to use the nest box, those must be placed at least a mile apart, and in a wooded area. The Barn Owl’s territorial size is just the area around the nest box, and their boxes will be placed in open prairie at the Refuge, their preferred habitat. Screech Owls' habitat is at the edge of woods, and their territory, like that of the Barn Owl, is the area around the nest.

Barn and Barred Owl boxes will be placed from 10’ to 20’ off the ground, while Screech Owl boxes can be situated 5’ to 20’ high.

The other owl seen at Hagerman NWR, the Great Horned Owl, is not a cavity nester, but rather takes over the abandoned nest of other birds such as hawks or crows, or even the nest of squirrels.
Visitors to the Refuge will probably not see the owl boxes as they will be placed away from public use area, but be assured that support for the Refuge and the Friends projects is helping to grow the owl population of the area.

For more information about Hagerman NWR, see http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html and for information about programs and activities, see http://www.friendsofhagerman.com.

Nest Box Monitors

Would you enjoy watching a bird’s nest, seeing the newly laid eggs and then the tiny baby birds who would soon be ready to fledge? You can do this as a volunteer, but please don’t take a peek unless you are on the monitor team, to avoid disturbing the birds more than once a week.

One of the Friends of Hagerman’s goals for this year was to add more nest boxes at the Refuge, then Sandy Campbell’s Second Saturday program on Bluebirds in March inspired the formation of the Nest Box Monitors Team at Hagerman NWR. The monitors have met, organized and are working to upgrade and add additional nest boxes at the Refuge. In addition, under Derek Miller’s leadership, a web-based data collection system has been developed and the Bluebird boxes are being given a GPS identifier and unique number so that each monitoring team can record data easily.

Originally there was a Bluebird trail along Harris Creek Trail; now Sandy Campbell has added more boxes there, and the team built a dozen new boxes and installed them along that trail as replacements for deteriorating boxes. A second trail has been added by Sandy along Haller Haven Trail and more boxes placed near Meadow Pond Trail.

The houses are monitored weekly by rotating pairs of monitors from the team and reports made. For last week Mike Chiles and Sandy reported that along the Meadow Pond Trail they found that a Titmouse and a Prothonotary Warbler had eggs; on Harris Creek they found three nest boxes with Bluebirds about to fledge, and one box with four eggs.

Currently the active team members are Sandy Campbell, Jack Chiles, Mike Chiles, Dianne Connery, Dick Malnory, Derek Miller, Andre Pease, Mike Pease, and Roger Peckinpaugh. There is room for more!! Just contact the Refuge to join up, 903 786 2826. Kathy Whaley is the Refuge liaison.

For more info, see the official Refuge website, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html and/or the Friends website, http://www.friendsofhagerman.com.

Photo by Dick Malnory

Let's Look at Bird Nests

By Helen Petre

Winter is the perfect time to walk the trails and look for bird nests. During the year, when the green leaves cover the trees, the nests are hidden, but in winter, we can find all kinds. Hagerman National wildlife Refuge has 11,320 acres of food and nesting habitat, so there is plenty of space for birds to choose a perfect home site. Nesting songbirds prefer the upland habitat along the trails away from Lake Texoma on the Hagerman Refuge.

On Saturday, February 13, at Second Saturday for Youth at Hagerman, youngsters aged 6 - 12 will be learning how to make gourd birdhouses, and in March "All About Nests" will be the youth program focus. In addition, "Bluebirds" are the topic for the Second Saturday general program on March 13. Make the most of your trail time to learn about how birds build their homes and then come to the programs to learn more.

Most birds build a nest of sticks or rough materials and line the cup, or inside where the eggs will be, with softer material. You can figure out which species of bird built the nest by noticing the materials and the shape of the nest. There are samples of bird’s nests at the Refuge Visitor Center, so you can go in and look at them and then see if you can find matching ones along the trails. There is often considerable variation in a nest of a particular species, but in next week’s post I will give a few clues for some common birds on the refuge.

For more information about activities and programs at Hagerman, please visit http://www.friendsofhagerman.com/, and for Refuge information, see http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html.

Photos: Great Horned Owl recycling a hawk's nest, by Eileen Sullivan, and Kildeer Nest with Eggs, by Dick Malnory