Carol Woods' Ongoing Bluebird Trail Tradition
Each spring, a group of residents at Carol Woods begin a ritual of monitoring bird nest boxes. Audrey Booth established the “Bluebird Trail” in 1998, spearheading the installation of 30 nest boxes. Residents started monitoring the boxes as birds found them, built nests, laid eggs, and raised babies. Sue Schroeder took over as “Trailmaster’” in 2004, followed by Ed Davis and now Kay Edgar.
In the mid-1900s, Eastern Bluebird populations declined precipitously for various reasons, including pesticides (DDT) and lack of nest cavities. As "holenesters," bluebirds suffered as older forests were cut down and the nest holes in those trees were no longer available. A movement sprang up, and artificial nest boxes were put up all over the east. Audrey got Carol Woods residents involved.
Following an appeal from North Carolina Audubon in 2015, Fred Schroeder organized the installation of nest boxes designed specifically for Brown-headed Nuthatches. So now, we monitor those boxes as well.
Other bird species occasionally use the bluebird boxes—Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, House Wrens, and Carolina Wrens. The data we collect is submitted to Nestwatch, a community science project under the auspices of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Cornell gathers data from many community science projects—Christmas bird counts, eBird checklists, backyard bird counts, feeder watches, and more. These long-term data are helping scientists understand fluctuations in bird populations. And these fluctuations, in turn, are part of more widespread fluctuations in mammal, insect, and plant populations.
Now, each spring, starting in late February, a stalwart crew of Carol Woods residents begin their weekly inspections of the nest boxes they have agreed to take under their wings. They note the stage of nest development, count the number of eggs or babies present, and watch for the fledging of those babies when they eventually leave the nest to go out on their own. Since bluebirds may raise as many as three broods a year, these residents commit themselves to monitoring well into July. In 2024, we reported 276 bluebird eggs laid, 227 babies hatched, and 193 fledglings who left their nests.