Blue Bird Trail
One of the four purposes of the GCY is “to promote and preserve native plants, pollinators and birds.” In the true sense of this purpose, the club has taken a step in promoting a habitat for cavity nesting birds, hopefully, mostly bluebirds, by funding a trail of seven boxes at Country Meadows Retirement Community in the Shiloh area of West York.
The idea for a trail came when it was announced that the club, via the Project Grants Committee, would fund mission-driven projects proposed by members. After discussion and planning, a proposal for a Bluebird Trail was written and submitted in December of 2024. It was exciting when it was accepted in January of 2025! Supplies were purchased, with the nesting boxes ordered from the Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania, the boxes were installed, and monitoring began in April of 2025.
Each week from the first week of April through the last week of July, two Garden Club members monitor the boxes. They sign up on Sign-Up Genius and are instructed as to what to look for and how to record the contents of each box onto a tally sheet.
Bluebird nests are compactly woven and made of fine grasses or pine needles. The nest is distinctly neat, with a definite cup to accommodate blue eggs, usually four.
There may not only be Bluebirds, but Chickadees, Tree Swallows, House Wrens or House Sparrows in the boxes, as these are all cavity nesting birds. Each of these birds has a unique nest and that’s the fun of it. When a box is opened, you never know what you’ll find!
As of the end of June, 2025, here’s what we’ve found so far:
- Bluebird nests: 3
- Bluebird eggs: 4
- Bluebird fledges (Fledges are birds that leave the nest.): 3
- Black-Capped Chickadee nests: 1
- Black-Capped Chickadee eggs: 7
- Black-Capped Chickadee fledges (One was found dead.): 6
- House Sparrow nests removed: 21
- House Wren nests: 3
At the end of the season all data from our recording sheets is uploaded onto the Bluebird Society of PA website, so statewide, the health of cavity nesting birds in Pennsylvania can be reviewed and studied.
Members showed so much interest in monitoring the boxes, we may add another trail in 2026. Stay tuned!
