| Project
Bluebird
Purpose
of the project
Our goal is to work with students and volunteers to create
a bluebird “trail” (series of boxes) in the South
Sound area, so as to better ensure the survival of the western
bluebird and at the same time educate people about bird conservation
and habitat protection, while reaching out to landowners
with prairie habitat.
Partners
in the project
- The Nature
Conservancy and Black Hills Audubon Chapter are working
together to build the boxes
with schools, locate
sites to place the boxes, and monitor the box usage.
- Pacific
Education Institute provided the funds for a guest educator
in each classroom.
- Wolf
Haven International is cooperating on environmental education
and placing boxes on their prairie
property.
- Tumwater
School District has several classes participating in the
project. Elementary classes have built boxes and
cleaned them out in the fall. High school classes have
participated
in monitoring box usage.
Bluebirds
in South Puget Sound
Bluebirds are dependent on the open grasslands and oak savannas
found in the South Puget Sound. Western Bluebirds have
suffered from competition for nest sites because of the
introduced European Starlings and House Sparrows. Western
Bluebirds feed primarily from perches, dropping to the
ground to feed on grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles,
bugs, and spiders. Insects make up about 80 percent of
their diet; the rest is fruit, which is consumed from late
summer to early spring. As their habitat has dwindled,
so too have their numbers. Though not listed as an endangered
species, the western bluebird is an uncommon bird in Puget
Sound, due to habitat loss and nesting competition by non-native
birds.
The role
of bluebird boxes
The proliferation of bluebird boxes is solely responsible
for the comeback that bluebirds have made in Washington
and across the United States. Without the construction
and maintenance of boxes, the bluebird population would
be significantly smaller.
A word
about the prairies
Native prairies of the South Puget Sound are one of the most
endangered ecosystems in the United States. Native prairie
habitats have been nearly extirpated from the region, causing
the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) (remove
one space between Resources and the parenthesis) to identify
South Puget Sound prairies as the most endangered ecosystem
in the state. It is estimated that less than 10% of the
original 150,000 acres of pre-European settlement prairie
remains, and only about 3% is dominated by native prairie
species. Factors contributing to the loss and degradation
of these ecosystems include fire suppression and associated
conifer tree invasion, urban and agricultural conversion,
invasion and profusion of non-native species that have
suppressed or eliminated native populations, and continued
disturbance and degradation from human use. Aided by scores
of volunteers, the Conservancy and its partners have removed
invasive plant species, restored native grasses and planted
oak seedlings on thousands of acres. The Conservancy and
its partners also advocate for funding, so as to put additional
lands into protection, and work with private landowners
on habitat protection.
For further
information
- Erica
Baker, teacher and district Environmental Education Team
co-leader, Tumwater School District, 360-709-7216,
ebaker@tumwater.k12.wa.us
- Eric Delvin, Thurston County Project Manager, The Nature
Conservancy, 360-280-2460 edelvin@tnc.org
- Heath Packard, Field Director, Audubon Washington, 360-790-5680,
ikilltvs@yahoo.com
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