Nest Box Check - July 19, 2007

We have three nest boxes with Eastern Bluebird clutches remaining out of our 21 box trail.

• Box #1 - 5 eggs
• Box #4 - 4 recently hatched bluebirds with one egg remaining.
• Box #7 - 5 eggs
• Box #9 - nest box found down on the ground with roof destroyed, all 5 eggs gone. All the evidence indicates bear predation.
  

We are winding down cavity nest box trail activity here, but the onset of the monsoon rains are catalyzing our grassland bird species. One of my favorites are the Montezuma quail who can be heard singing to each other every morning, evening and before each storm. The quail are a species of concern due to loss of habitat to overgrazing and excessive hunting. One of our ongoing ranch projects has been reseeding the areas around two wildlife water ponds we established in 2001. The ground was so severely overgrazed during the years it was a working cattle ranch that each summer rainy season we battle to re-establish vegetation for our grassland birds. We have decided to try a technique used to seed steep eroded areas along highways. Straw mixed with seed are rolled into 25ft long sections, which are staked into the ground. This keeps the seed where you want it, not running off the hillside with the first really strong storm. Later this Fall, we plan on submitting a grant proposal for these "seed rolls" of native grass seed and mulch.