Eastern Bluebird nesting season officially drew to a close in mid-August with the fledging of our last three bluebird babies. For about 5.5 months, Ranger Allcox monitored and maintained the 13 nest boxes provided to our park by the North Carolina Bluebird Society to both track the success of our bluebird conservation program and to provide human intervention when needed (via predator guards and ideal nest box modification/placement) so that young eastern bluebirds can have their best chance at survival.
This year Ranger Allcox reports that The Summit nest boxes saw a total of 9 nests with 33 chicks fledged while Iron Ore Belt Access saw a total of 7 nests with 27 chicks fledged bring our grand total to 16 nests / 60 chicks fledged for the 2022 nesting season. Mortality this year included 3 unhatched eggs and 4 chicks lost to predation. In addition to bluebirds, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that one of our nest boxes also welcomed a family of Carolina Chickadees this year. You never know what you'll discover in the world of nature.
If you would like to help with our bluebird monitoring project in 2023, participate in a bird count, or learn more about other volunteer projects our park has to offer (including Eagle Scout) please email the park at haw.river@ncparks.gov .