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March 25, 2008

Spring is for the birds!

The weather may still be chilly, but the birds are telling us that spring is here. The Cardinals are belting out their "chew chew chew" calls, the chickadees are singing and the woodpeckers are busy drumming their territory on tree trunks.

Spring also means the commencement of the nest box season. Carolina Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds and Eurasian Tree Sparrows may begin nesting as early as mid-March (though April is usually the month the eggs begin appearing) and the boxes were already showing signs of activity the first week in March. After checking boxes yesterday it is safe to say that the nest building portion of the breeding season is underway. More than half the boxes contained material and several times I witnessed birds leaving the boxes. I was lucky to capture this photo of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow entering a box with some nesting material.

Many have asked me if any of the nest boxes contained evidence of Eastern Bluebird activity and sadly the answer is no. Though the Bluebirds are not true migrants and stay in the same spot year round, I think they only pass through our prairies for food before flying to a nearby area to breed. There are at least 2 golf courses near LREC and it has been my experience that Bluebirds find this type of habitat favorable for raising their young. Late last summer Malinda Slagle and I discussed possible ways to encourage Bluebirds to use the nestboxes and this past winter she and the Friday volunteers moved the boxes located on the woodland edge into the prairie. Time will tell if this entices the Bluebirds into our nestboxes. I do plan to continue research additional ways to encourage the Bluebirds to nest in our prairie.

However, Litzsinger Road Ecology Center is one of the few places in the United States that have a breeding colony of Eurasian Tree Sparrows. Back in 1870, German Immigrants homesick for the birds from their homeland released 20 Eurasian Tree Sparrows in Lafayette Park. Since then these birds have spread through St. Louis and St. Charles Counties and Madison and Calhoun Counties in Illinois. These sparrows are found nowhere else in the United States and birdwatchers from all over will make a special trip to St. Louis just to see them. Being an avid birdwatcher myself, I feel truly fortunate to have been able to check the boxes and handle these unique birds over the last 2 years.

The Eurasian Tree Sparrows were not the only birds active at LREC. One of our resident Red-shouldered hawks was seen flying around between the barn and the classroom.

A pair of Canada Geese were grazing on the pasture prairie.

And there were dozens of Robins foraging on and near the burned prairies.

Spring is a busy time of the year and there will be a great deal of growth and activity in the next few months. Be sure to stay tuned for further updates on the nest boxes and other spring sightings!

Posted by Colleen Crank at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)