Begun in 2007 as
a commitment to helping bluebirds and improving the
quality of retention basins. Because of Egg Harbor
Township's rapid growth in the most recent past, the
township has been required to construct a large number
of retention basins by clearing the land of forests and
replacing them with empty basins. A perfect
location for bluebird boxes! With the help of NJ
Audubon Society member and EHT resident John Layton we
have endeavored to turn eyesores into an advantage.
Mr. Layton builds and installs the boxes, monitors and
bands the fledglings and reports the results to
the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology. In accordance with federal
regulations, protected species are left undisturbed and
fledged, as you see in the reports below. The
Arboretum has the maximum number it can support (4) but
each year as more retention basin come on line, more
boxes are added.
| 4 Bluebird
houses |
| 14 Tree
swallows fledged |
|
13 House wrens
fledged |
|
Bluebird Results for 2010
|
Retention Basins
|
|
85 bluebird chicks fledged |
|
28 tree swallow chicks fledged |
|
3 wren chicks fledged |
|
|
Arboretum
|
|
0 bluebird chicks fledged |
|
11 tree swallow chicks fledged |
|
12 wren chicks fledged |
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2011 |
|
Retention Basins |
|
Eastern Bluebirds 101 Chicks Fledged |
|
Tree Swallow 25 Chicks Fledged |
|
House wren 6 Chicks Fledged |
|
|
|
Arboretum |
|
Eastern Bluebird 4 Chicks Fledged |
|
Tree Swallow 15 Chicks Fledged |
|
House wren 19 Chicks Fledged |
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2012 |
|
Retention Basins |
|
126 Eastern bluebirds |
|
6 House wrens |
|
14 Tree swallows |
|
6 Chickadees |
|
|
|
Arboretum |
|
18 House wrens |
|
15 Tree swallows |
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2013 |
|
154 Bluebirds Banded & Fledged |
|
15 House wrens Fledged |
|
9 Tree Swallows Fledged |
|
12 Chickadees Fledged |
|
11 Titmice Fledged |
|
|
|
2014 Bluebird, Journal of the North American
Bluebird Society |
|
Spring, Vol. 36, No. 2 |
|
"If You Build It They Will Adapt" |
|
John Layton |
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2014 |
|
|
|
178 Eastern Bluebirds banded and fledged |
|
9 House Wrens |
|
16 Tree Swallows |
|
7 Chickadees |
|
9 Tufted Titmice |
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2015 |
|
|
|
132 Eastern
bluebirds chicks banded and fledged |
|
8 Tufted titmice
chicks fledged |
|
17 Tree swallows chicks fledged |
|
14 Chickadees
chicks fledged |
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2016
51 boxes
Eastern
bluebirds
Nest
starts 42
Eggs laid
231
Chicks
153
Lost 78
Tree
swallows 0
House wren
10
Chickadee 21
Titmice
14
Eastern
flycatcher- 3 chicks dead in box (7 days old)
Notes: Mr.
Layton's trails had an increase of 16 bluebird
chicks fledged over last year despite removal of
20 boxes, 10 at Forsythe and 10 on trails that
were not productive, there were 5 boxes with
3rd broods ( 13 fledged) 1 box with 10 white
eggs (2 broods) all 10 hatched into normal
bluebirds, 1 box had an Eastern Flycatcher (4
eggs) 3 chicks died in box at 7 days old .
Special
thanks to Diane Katy & Linda Mancuso (Stockton)
and Lori-Jo Jamison, EHT, for their excellent
work in helping monitor our trails.
|
|
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2017 |
|
|
|
Bluebirds - 256 banded and
fledged |
|
Tree swallow - 80 |
|
House wren - 58 |
|
Titmice - 9 |
|
Caroline wrens - 5 |
|
Chickadees - 32 |
|
|
|
Ballenger Woods 7 Boxes
monitored by Lori Jo Jamison |
|
Bluebirds - 34 |
|
Tree swallows - 5 |
|
|
|
Bluebird Results for 2018 |
|
|
|
Bluebirds Banded and Fledged - 74 |
|
House Wren - 6 |
|
Titmice - 6 |
|
Chickadees - 12 |
|
24 Retention Basins |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
