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--Boundary_(ID_QsYidR6tWqw160/Bg9nvDg) Content-type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable A few people (on and off-line) have asked me what the chances are of = getting Bluebirds in Nova Scotia if they go to the trouble of building and installing nesting boxes. It is impossible to estimate your chances of getting Bluebirds, but here = are some considerations. First, we don't really know why Bluebirds stopped nesting in the = province by 1960. All we know is that they are coming back, and = evidence from other places indicates that the presence of nesting boxes = is a big help to their recovery. All those decades when the Bluebirds = were missing, very few people were putting up nesting boxes for them. There is a negative feed-back loop at work here in Nova Scotia: we have = few Bluebirds probably because there are few nesting boxes; but then = there are few boxes because people see little chance of getting a = Bluebird tenant. The Bluebirds like man-made nesting boxes even better than natural = cavities in trees: it is what the animal behavior specialists call a = =93super-stimulus=94 =97 something which fits the bird=92s ideal even = better than what is in nature. The preferred habitat is a cleared area (but not mowed too short) in = which insects abound. There should be about 20 feet away a lone = hardwood tree, which the Bluebirds like to frequent to guard the box, = and to rest in between foraging. That is the ideal. Old orchards are = really good, because they have many such habitats, along with nice = insects because of the lack of spraying. Bluebirds do not like densely = wooded places, and especially not spruce woods. Food is a key determinant. Some birds will even stay through a cold = winter if food is available. In the Middle Atlantic States (such as New = Jersey), some Bluebirds stay around all winter, subsisting on suet in = feeders intended for woodpeckers. In other words, temperature alone is = not the direct stimulus for migration. This is why the changing = distribution of various bird species is not a very good indication of = climatic changes, no matter what the Audubon Society says (and they, of = all people, should know better). The best living indication of climate = is the distribution of plants, which cannot pull up their roots and = migrate with the seasons: this has been known for over a century, and = was the original basis of the Koeppen climate classification. Now back to Bluebirds. I have seen one nesting pair a few years ago, = and it was in Lunenburg. Someone had given a resident a simple nesting = box, and Bluebirds appeared, and promptly started raising a family. = There were vacant fields nearby, and so an abundant source of insect = food for the birds. Just how the Bluebirds happened to find that = nesting box, I forgot to ask =97 and I would have had to have inquired = of the Bluebirds themselves. So, the resident in Lunenburg had luck on the first try. As they say in = the gambling racket, =93You could just as likely have been the winner.=94 = But that still says nothing about the odds. So, I am putting up boxes partly for fun, and on the off-chance that = they may actually bring in the desired Bluebirds. But maybe I will get = Tree Swallows, which aren=92t so bad. Maybe I will just have some = interesting lawn ornaments.= --Boundary_(ID_QsYidR6tWqw160/Bg9nvDg) Content-type: text/html; charset=windows-1252 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <html><head></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; = -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Times; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 14px;">A few people (on = and off-line) have asked me what the chances are of getting Bluebirds in = Nova Scotia</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">if they go to the trouble of building and = installing nesting boxes.</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; = text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; = "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">It is impossible to estimate your chances of = getting Bluebirds, but here are some = considerations.</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Times; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 14px;">First, we don't = really know why Bluebirds stopped nesting in the province by 1960. = All we know is that they are coming back, and evidence from other = places indicates that the presence of nesting boxes is a big help to = their recovery. All those decades when the Bluebirds were missing, = very few people were putting up nesting boxes for = them.</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: = normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span"= size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">There is a negative feed-back loop at work = here in Nova Scotia: we have few Bluebirds probably because there are = few nesting boxes; but then there are few boxes because people see = little chance of getting a Bluebird tenant.</span></font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">The Bluebirds like man-made nesting boxes = even better than natural cavities in trees: it is what the animal = behavior specialists call a =93super-stimulus=94 =97 something which = fits the bird=92s ideal even better than what is in = nature.</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: = normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Times; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 14px;">The preferred = habitat is a cleared area (but not mowed too short) in which insects = abound. There should be about 20 feet away a lone hardwood tree, = which the Bluebirds like to frequent to guard the box, and to rest in = between foraging. That is the ideal. Old orchards are really = good, because they have many such habitats, along with nice insects = because of the lack of spraying. Bluebirds do not like densely = wooded places, and especially not spruce woods.</span></font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">Food is a key determinant. Some birds = will even stay through a cold winter if food is available. In the = Middle Atlantic States (such as New Jersey), some Bluebirds stay around = all winter, subsisting on suet in feeders intended for woodpeckers. = In other words, temperature alone is not the direct stimulus for = migration. This is why the changing distribution of various bird = species is not a very good indication of climatic changes, no matter = what the Audubon Society says (and they, of all people, should know = better). The best living indication of climate is the distribution = of plants, which cannot pull up their roots and migrate with the = seasons: this has been known for over a century, and was the original = basis of the Koeppen climate classification.</span></font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">Now back to Bluebirds. I have seen one = nesting pair a few years ago, and it was in Lunenburg. Someone had = given a resident a simple nesting box, and Bluebirds appeared, and = promptly started raising a family. There were vacant fields = nearby, and so an abundant source of insect food for the birds. = Just how the Bluebirds happened to <i>find</i> that nesting box, I = forgot to ask =97 and I would have had to have inquired of the Bluebirds = themselves.</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; = "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">So, the resident in Lunenburg had luck on the = first try. As they say in the gambling racket, =93You could just = as likely have been the winner.=94 But that still says nothing = about the odds.</span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; = "><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: = 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: = justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 14px;">So, I am putting up boxes partly for fun, and = on the off-chance that they may actually bring in the desired Bluebirds. = But maybe I will get Tree Swallows, which aren=92t so bad. = Maybe I will just have some interesting lawn = ornaments.</span></font></div></body></html>= --Boundary_(ID_QsYidR6tWqw160/Bg9nvDg)--
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