Environmental Studies Students Help Install Bluebird Nest Boxes

Purchase College Environmental Studies students Jennifer Rosborough and Gabrielle Mendez, along with Professor Allyson Jackson, volunteered their time and expertise to help install eastern bluebird nest boxes at Deer Pond Farm in Sherman CT last month. Deer Pond Farm is a new preserve managed by the Connecticut Audubon Society and includes 835 acres straddling the Connecticut-New York border. Not yet open to the public except for guided tours, the Purchase College group worked with park staff and local volunteers to decide on placement for the nest box trail.

Eastern bluebirds (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird) are secondary cavity nesting birds, which means they need a hole in a tree to build their nest, but they don’t actually excavate it themselves. They usually rely on old woodpecker holes in dead trees, but providing nest boxes allows them extra nest site options, which can help bolster population numbers. The nest box trail at Deer Pond Farm will be monitored by volunteers to see how many birds nest and how many babies hatch.

More info about Deer Pond Farm and Connecticut Audubon can be found at www.ctaudubon.org/deer-pond-farm-home

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