03.31.10

Colorado Bluebird Project

I'm excited to announce that I am an official volunteer for the Colorado Bluebird Project here in Castle Rock. Over the course of the next 5-6 months, I will be one of the five other people/groups observing the new nesting boxes that are going in at Bison Park. I was hoping to be a part of this group because I work at CSE, adjacent to the park, and I've watched the kids building their boxes.

We will be using Google Docs to record our observations over the coming months and I'm excited to see how many of the boxes get used. Over the past two years I have seen several bluebirds around the school so I'm hopeful.

At last night's meeting I had an interesting conversation with an older gentlemen who lives on the east side of town. They just recently saw six Western Bluebirds in their backyard. I live on the west side of town and have never seen a Western, only the Mountain. And he doesn't see any Mountain, only the Western - very interesting.

I will also be making some slight modifications to my backyard box so I can monitor this nest more closely as well. I will be reporting this information to NestWatch.

If you would like to learn more about either organization, visit their web sites here:
Colorado Bluebird Project - Colorado's organization is run by the Audubon Society of Greater Denver. If you aren't in Colorado I'm guessing you could find a local project.

NestWatch - Operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this is a wonderful way to get your family involved in data collection and help scientist learn more about our feathered friends. It's easy to register - I have my account and group created, now I'm just waiting for the birds to nest. I will be monitoring both the bluebird and swallow nests.