UPCOMING BHAS PROJECTS
Kathleen Snyder
We are all excited about the coming spring and the birds it will bring. Our Bluebird Nest Box Project is gearing up for another wonderful season on the south sound prairies. The big news is that we were contacted by Wolf Haven about their nest boxes. Wolf Haven has a small prairie next to the wolf sanctuary with seven nest boxes on it. The organization that had been monitoring them has pulled out and BHAS agreed to take over. Wolf Haven also had two volunteers who were interested in being involved so that helped seal the deal.
A group of us went out to find, clean, and assess the boxes in February. Most of the boxes are starting to show their age but should be good for one more year. The prairie itself is in good condition – no Scotch Broom was seen – and it undergoes regular, controlled burning to maintain this. As these boxes only open from the side, our two monitors will do passive monitoring by sitting and watching the activity around the boxes. Last year there was one successful bluebird nest and two unsuccessful. I hope we can improve on that in the future.
The other big news is our plan to erect a Motus tower in the Hood Canal area. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Motus is a program of Birds Canada in partnership with collaborating researchers and organizations (this from their website). There is a Motus tower at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR that is placed near the twin barns. Our tower will be attached to the same shorebird study (through US Fish & Wildlife) as the Nisqually one.
Currently we are exploring which location would be best. We need electricity and a clear line of sight over the canal. The towers can pick up signals from up to 15 miles away if there is no interference. This will be a complicated project that we are committing to for five years, at least. We are working with a Motus staff person employed by American Bird Conservancy and a US Fish and Wildlife biologist.
The Motus website is https://motus.org/
If you are interested in helping with either of these projects, please contact me at ksnyder75@nullgmail.com
Photo credit: Western Bluebirds, by Bruce Jacobs.
