By Kelly A. Shue
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

In recent years, the decline of the bluebird population has worried bird watchers and ornithologists alike. By setting up appropriate shelter in the form of bluebird boxes, members of the Greenspring campus provide bluebirds with the opportunity to lay eggs and propagate the species.

A place to call home
For the last three years, Greenspring community members Al and Vivian Nielsen have been putting a bluebird nesting box at the edge of the woods facing their apartment home. Their box is among at least 15 others within the community.

Beginning in mid to late February, the couple watch as the male bluebirds decide whether to nest in their box. “It is fascinating to watch,” says Al Nielsen. “Once the birds decide to nest in our box, it takes a few weeks to prepare and then eventually lay their eggs. At that point, we can get about an egg a day. Last year we were very lucky. We had two hatches in our box. The first resulted in four hatched eggs, and the second resulted in three birds.”

For the Nielsens, one of the most exciting parts of the process is witnessing the first feedings and the eventual fledge (when the baby birds first leave the nest).

“My wife bought some freeze-dried meal worms that we would put in a plastic cup on the fence twice a day,” says Al Nielsen. “The father and mother birds eat and then bring the rest to their nest. We checked on the box often, and many times when we opened the door of the bluebird box to peek in, the baby birds would open their mouths wide, hoping to be fed.”

Into the wild
By the end of May, the baby birds are ready to leave their nests. “Last year I was able to capture the fledging process on videotape,” says Al Nielsen. “It is really remarkable to watch. The first bird gets up, looks out the window at the wild world, asking himself if he is really ready to explore. With the mother’s encouragement, it takes about 25 to 30 minutes to jump. The siblings repeat the process, each jumping sooner than the last.”