Professor seeks help to finance bluebird research
Money is needed for repair and construction of bluebird nest boxes.
In recent years, Berry professor Dr. Renee Carleton, DVM, has become known as the college’s go to person for expertise related to its nesting bald eagle. Carleton’s true passion, however, is with the eastern bluebird. Over the last 15 years, Carleton and her students have built and maintained 50 bluebird boxes all over the college campus to further research into the species.
Over the years, Carleton and her students have banded and been able to monitor the activity of well over 1,000 bluebirds.
The professor said normal bluebird habitat is open grassy areas bordered by trees. “They don’t like really tall grass and they require a small cavity,” Carleton said. “In trees there is such access to that opening by snakes and raccoons, and they are competing with other species of cavity-nesting birds as well, like wrens, titmice, chickadees and house sparrows, so a lot of times they prefer a box mounted on a pole with a clearing around it so they can have an open view of the habitat.”
Today, Carleton has created an Adopt a Nest Box for Bluebirds program to replace nest boxes that have been lost to the elements.
Carleton is tapping into the Berry College crowdfunding portal Berry Funder in an effort to raise close to $2,000 to repair and replace bluebird boxes.
In exchange for a $75 donation, Carleton will send the contributors regular status reports and photos of the box along with reports regarding breeding activity,
the number of eggs that are laid, the number of babies that hatch and when they are able to successfully leave the nest.
Carleton said there are essentially no natural nesting sites on campus, so she needs to bring all the bluebird boxes back to usable condition. She said the campaign would be perfect for groups such as Sunday School classes, civic clubs, garden clubs and even elementary school classes.
The $75 donations will cover the cost of wood, mounting poles, hardware, cement for poles if necessary and predator baffles, little cages that cover the opening to the nests,
Carleton said of the 50 nests she put up 15 years ago, only 30 are sill usable and many of them need repairs.
“Smaller gifts are also appreciated because— of course — some of the boxes just need some minor repairs,” Carleton said. The crowdfunding campaign will be active for 45 days
If Carleton is able to generate enough revenue she also hopes to get a tiny bluebird camera up and functioning again in at least one of the boxes this spring.
For more information or to fund a bluebird box, go to www.berry.edu/funder and choose “Adopt a nest for bluebirds.”