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Integrating wildlife and agriculture on DelmarvaCWH's sustainable agriculture program seeks to enhance the agricultural environment for wildlife while maintaining farm profitability. (Fall 1997) Luring the Cerulean Thrush: feeding BluebirdsAttract bluebirds to your feeders by providing a steady diet of mealworms. (Fall 1997) Wildlife Profile: Wood Duck(Fall 1997) Managing power line rights-of-way for habitat diversityWith over 600 miles of rights-of-way on the Delmarva Peninsula, some 6,000 acres of great wildlife habitat are right under our very nose. (Fall 1997) Leaving corn for geeseCWH urges landowners to leave standing corn in the fields to help feed migrating Canada geese. (Fall 1997) Why buy CWH's sunflower seed? Feeding backyard birds CWH's locally grown black oil sunflower seed ensures they will feast upon a healthier product. (Fall 1997) CRP Acres for Wildlife Habitat (Fall 1997) The USDA recently announced that there will be a new general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sign-up starting October 14 for lands not eligible for the continuous sign-up now in progress. Originally created by the 1985 Farm Act, CRP was expanded by the 1996 Farm Act to include wildlife habitat practices. The CRP program is by far the best and most flexible tool that landowners have to restore wildlife habitat on their property while being paid a generous annual per acre rental by the government. In exchange for voluntarily placing agricultural land into long-term conservation practices, landowners receive annual rental payments for the land and 50 percent cost-share assistance for establishing those practices. Rental rates should average $70 to $85 per acre per year on a 10-year to 15-year contract. The only reason not to sign some land into CRP is if you don't like money and wildlife. One good example of a wildlife habitat project qualifying for CRP funding is the establishment of native grass meadows. Bobwhite quail and other grassland birds can be helped enormously by grass meadows (warm season grasses) planted in farmland. Nesting success will likely be improved by planting non-linear habitats (blocks) relative to narrow strips where predation is more likely. Wildflowers and other forbs may be mixed with grasses to improve visual appeal for humans and insect diversity which will benefit birds and bats. Butterflies, garter snakes, toads, fireflies, native bees (bumbles and sweat bees) and many other creatures will utilize your meadow. Native grassland is the rarest habitat type in the region and CRP is its best hope for renewal. Even Canada geese may benefit from this program. Consider establishing 5 to 20 acres of clover-orchardgrass meadow for these birds to graze on during the winter. Then plan on leaving some standing corn near the clover and you have a suitable goose wintering area which should take some of the grazing pressure off of neighboring wheat fields planted for harvest. Please don't forget about the continuous CRP sign-up which will be extended at least through 1998. Both shallow water wetland habitats and 24 to 99 foot buffer strips along ditches may be signed in at any time. These habitats can be tremendous additions to your farm wildlife program and will help migratory birds as well. If you have an interest in the Conservation Reserve Program, please
call the CWH office (410) 822-5100) so that we may help you and the wildlife
resource get the most out of it on your property. We'll go over your options
and help you develop a plan which will save you and the USDA folks time
during the sign-up. (Ned Gerber) Integrating wildlife and agriculture on Delmarva (Fall 1997) One simple general rule of the environmental thumb is this: the more diverse plant and animal species that inhabit a given area, the healthier and more resilient that area is. The same can be said for farmlands. CWH's Sustainable Agriculture program proposes and implements sound management practices on projects with landowners and farmers to enhance the environment for wildlife as well as the agricultural resource. Natural hedgerows, traditionally used as property boundaries and for livestock containment, have been rapidly disappearing from the Eastern Shore landscape. One major goal of the CWH program is the installation and maintenance of hedgerows that are compatible within the agro-ecosystem to be managed. These range from permanently non-cropped areas naturally colonized on either side of a drainage ditch, to diverse plantings of trees and shrubs. Hedgerows perform an important agricultural role in minimizing wind erosion, creating a useful demarcation between soil types, and providing shelter and physical barriers to livestock. For wildlife, hedges provide nesting cover, foraging areas, and travel lanes, thereby increasing access into large acreages of monoculture. A hedgerow, one mile long and eight feet wide is a total of only one acre. CWH encourages landowners and farmers to include in their landscape buffer strips and grassed waterways to minimize runoff and reduce soil erosion. These areas can be sown to mixtures of warm season grass with the addition of clover, for example. Clovers are important in that they not only fix atmospheric nitrogen but also have a diverse insect population associated with them to provide an important food source for upland gamebird broods. Rabbits and geese find these grasses much more palatable than the non-native fescues often recommended for these sites. Managing buffer strips and grassed waterways with a bush hog can be both beneficial and detrimental to wildlife, irrespective of what is planted. Because there is little benefit derived from mowing everything all at once, no more than one half an area should be mown in a given season of the year. This creates a patchwork of habitat offering the right temporal and spatial distribution of food, breeding, and escape cover. From a nutrient runoff and erosion point of view tall grass areas will work just as well, and sometimes better, as when the grass is mown. It is important to keep a watchful eye on noxious and aggressive weeds and keep those areas mown or spot treated with a carefully selected herbicide. Cover crops not only offer important nutrient uptake following corn, but also provide winter cover and feed for geese. Longer term rotations which may include cool or warm season grasses for hay or grazing can be included on farms that have a livestock component. A large amount of our efforts are directed toward the construction and maintenance of shallow water wetland impoundments on farms. These are planned for use by waterfowl, shorebirds, amphibians, dragonflies, etc. and are often sited in areas that will aid in sediment control and runoff. Ponds my be drawn down in the late spring and moist soil managed or incorporated, if desired, into the regular cropping system. Otherwise, special food plots of millet, corn, and sorghum can be planted and flooded in the fall to attract waterfowl. Biochemically these ponds act as denitrification areas and phosphorus sinks. Another major component of our agriculture program is the use of pre and post emergence herbicides banded over the crop row. Banding allows for the reduction of up to 2/3 of applied chemical herbicide followed by one or two cultivations. When applied, this technique will provide economic savings to the farmer as well as reducing chemical pollution to the Bay, with a decreasing reliance on artificial petrochemicals. CWH is striving to instill in land managers a long term commitment to
stewardship of our most fundamental resource, the soil. A farm should not
solely be viewed as an agro-economic breadbasket. A healthy farm will have
a diverse landscape with an associated variety of wildlife, while providing
a wide range of additional values for the owner where wildlife and agriculture
can complement each other and coexist. (Michael Robin Haggie) BATS: A misunderstood mammal (Spring 1998) One way to help eliminate some of those pesty biting insects that accompany the warmer weather is to encourage their natural predators. One very efficient predator, the bat, is actually one of our more beneficial insectivores. The most common bat found in Maryland, the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), can consume up to 600 mosquitoes in just one hour. Bat roosting houses have been in use for more than 60 years in Europe but have only recently become popular in the U.S. A bat house installed on your property will help invite bats to feed on night flying insects. Several factors are crucial to the success of a bat house: A bat roosting house should face east/southeast to provide optimal orientation to the morning sun. A variety of crevice widths to accommodate different species is desirable, as is a box with an open bottom to discourage wrens, mice, squirrels, or other unwanted animals from taking residence there. Locating the bat house within 1/4 mile of a stream, river, or large lake will also increase the likelihood of occupancy. Bats are feared only to the extent that they are misunderstood. Only two diseases are known to have been transmitted from bats to humans, rabies and histoplasmosis. The fear of acquiring these diseases from bats is grossly exaggerated. Less than one half of one percent of bats ever contact rabies, a frequency much lower than most mammals. Bats are important indicators of a healthy environment and they should
be a welcome part of our neighborhoods. For more information on the benefits
of installing a bat roosting house, please contact Andi Pupke at (410)
822-5100. LURING THE CERULEAN THRUSH (Feeding Bluebirds) (Fall 1997) More and more bluebirds are seen on the Eastern shore and other areas in Maryland, thanks in part to the thousands of artificial nesting boxes installed by CWH and other concerned groups. Although we often spot bluebirds flying from low hanging branches or nearby shrubs, a bluebird is rarely seen approaching a backyard feeder. Perhaps the reason is due to the menu being offered them. Eastern bluebirds are primarily insect eaters who shift toward berries in colder months when insects are not available. On average insects constitute 90% of a bluebird's diet during the warmer months and in the winter, only 60%. Bluebirds will often migrate short distances to warmer areas to ensure enough food for the winter season. To attract bluebirds to your feeders, try offering them a savory diet of mealworms. "Mealworms" are the larvae of small black beetles and can usually be purchased from your local pet store or bait shop. Start by leaving the mealworms on top of an enclosed feeder with an entrance hole that is 1½" in diameter. The birds will see the movement of the worms and capture them as they would natural prey and soon grow accustomed to dining at the feeder. Once you notice bluebirds feeding, move the mealworms inside the feeder so larger birds cannot get to the bluebird food. For variety, try adding dried currants, soaked raisins, bread, cakes, pitted dates, dried figs, peanut hearts, peanut butter, and pecans to the bluebird food. To provide winter food without the fuss of using mealworms, the following berry-producing shrubs and bushes can be planted: American holly, red staghorn sumac, high-bush cranberry, chokeberry, spicebush, bittersweet, hackberry, flowering dogwood, inkberry, smooth winterberry, Eastern red cedar, and bayberry. American holly is a particularly good source of winter bluebird food. Holly berries almost always remain on the tree until late winter when they soften, providing food for birds just at the most critical time of the year when other berry sources have been depleted. Once the weather begins to warm in late February, male bluebirds will
begin establishing territory and may stop visiting feeders and yard plantings.
The females will soon follow to begin building their nests. (Andi Pupke) Wildlife Profile: Wood Duck (Fall 1997) The wood duck (Aix sponsa, or "beautiful duck"), with its distinctively rich and varied plumage, is also known by several other common names: woodie, summer duck, acorn duck, swamp duck, or squealer. Evolving in the great river swamps of the Eastern U.S. and Canada, the wood duck is found only in North America and is one of only four waterfowl naturally breeding in the Chesapeake Bay area. Unlike most ducks that nest on the ground, the wood duck prefers to nest in hardwood tree cavities. Unfortunately the clearing and draining of swamps and bottomland forests has left the wood duck with few natural nesting sites. CWH has countered this threat by erecting artificial nesting boxes with predator guards in suitable woodie habitat. The woodie's acceptance of these manmade nesting boxes has helped its populations recover to acceptable numbers following a severe decline in the early 20th century. In fact, the wood duck was almost extinct by 1918 when a closed season came into effect until 1941. Fall and winter trigger the wood duck's courting ritual and by mid-January most birds have found mates. The pair will search for nesting sites together, however the female alone inspects and makes the final choice. The male rarely enters the nesting cavity. The hen lays her eggs in a depression in the nest cavity, using her own down to line the nest to provide insulation for her clutch. Eggs are laid at a rate of one per day over a period of twelve days. If a clutch of eggs or a brood is destroyed by predation, the hen may nest two more times in her effort to raise at least one brood. The eggs hatch after 28 to 30 days and within 24 hours, the female leaves the nest and calls to her ducklings to "jump ship". With their sharp claws, the ducklings climb to the opening of the cavity and leap out, regardless of the distance they must fall, never to return. Immediately the hen leads her brood to the safety of wetlands nearby with abundant vegetation. This provides both food and brood cover from predators, such as snapping turtles, fish, bullfrogs, snakes and wading birds. In this wetland nursery, the ducklings spend their days feeding on insects
and other invertebrate foods. They are raised and protected by the hen
for eight to ten weeks until they are able to fly on their own and fend
for themselves. An estimated four to six ducklings generally survive to
this stage. The young will return to the areas where they fledged to then
raise their own families. Managing power line rights-of-way for habitat diversity (Fall 1997) Have you given thought to the miles of power lines that crisscross the state and the land that lies beneath those lines? With over 600 miles of power line rights-of-way on the Delmarva Peninsula, some 6,600 acres of great wildlife habitat are right under our very nose. One local power company here on the Eastern Shore, Delmarva Power (DPL, soon to be CONECTIV), is concerned about this potential habitat. DPL has funded CWH to conduct several long term studies of wildlife habitat and how that habitat is affected by different clearance and maintenance practices within the power line right-of-way. Many utility lines run through "low value" woodland. These lines have traditionally been constructed by clearcutting swathes through these woodlands and forests. However nature's power of regeneration is awesome -- within only two years a single red maple stump can resprout into many 30 foot laterals. These trees are inherently weak at the trunk base because of their growth habits. In a storm a fallen trunk can bring down a whole power line, not just short it out. Until only a decade ago most of Delmarva's power lines were mown to keep tall trees from growing into the electric lines and interrupting service to customers. DPL discovered that mowing a right-of-way for maintenance purposes is not only expensive and dangerous but is very destructive to wildlife using the right-of-way. Mowing in the spring and early summer destroys the nests of ground nesting birds like bobwhite quail and kills mammals and reptiles, like rabbits and box turtles. As an alternative Delmarva Power in 1984 initiated a combination of strategies for their power line rights-of-way maintenance. This approach, called Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM), employs a number of practices like selective cutting, IPM, and the use of herbicides. One particular survey conducted by CWH studied the modification in the habitat of a red maple/black willow shrub swamp dominated by Phragmites. Delmarva Power did not want the tall growing maples and CWH was interested in eliminating the common reed and improving the natural habitat diversity of the site. An aerial application of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round-up) late one summer virtually killed all the vegetation. A disaster? No! We had banked on the recuperative powers of Mother Earth. We knew that within the wetland lay the seeds that contained potential for regenerative life. They had lain, some possibly for decades, until the overhead canopy was released and light and temperature initiated germination. Within two years we measured sixty-six native herbaceous species, compared to the only one non-native (Phragmites) before herbicide treatment. We never had to broadcast herbicide again. Just odd spot treatments of any clumps of Phragmites. Furthermore, of all the shrub species that had been ostensively killed, the same number was restored within two years. The results of this study were conclusive. A well planned and carefully
thought out management plan can have great applicability in utility rights-of-way
and can be very beneficial to wildlife through increased diversity. (Michael
Robin Haggie) Leaving corn for geese (Fall 1997) Larry Albright, president of the CWH Board of Directors, is urging landowners and farmers to leave standing corn to help feed migrating Canada geese stopping over in Maryland this fall and winter. Larry notes good news concerning geese coming from northern breeding areas. Reports indicate that there has been excellent nesting this spring and summer. More significantly, the brood production counts show a marked increase. "This increases the importance of having more food available for Canada geese migrating to the Eastern Shore," Larry emphasizes. "There is not much grain left behind by the modern efficient corn pickers of today. They are not leaving grain in the fields like they used to," he continued. Larry is calling for farm owners to leave standing corn no matter how small the amount. CWH and the Waterfowl Festival are presently investigating tax deductions
based on the market price of corn left in the field. Only the cost of planting
is presently tax deductible. The Waterfowl Festival's Canada Goose Sanctuary
Program, now in its 12th year, provides funds to farmers and landowners
to leave standing corn and plant winter wheat for waterfowl in non-hunted
areas. Maryland DNR's Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) also
pays farmers and landowners to leave standing corn. In addition to these
programs, Larry hopes that other farm owners will voluntarily leave standing
corn to feed the expected increase of Canada geese on the Eastern Shore
this year. Why buy CWH's sunflower seed? (Fall 1997) Customers (members and non members) buying CWH's black oil sunflower seed have asked about the advantages of purchasing our birdseed over commercially produced seed. First of all, our seed is grown locally on the Eastern Shore by farmers and landowners who use sustainable farming practices. Secondly, it is grown using 2/3 fewer herbicides and no insecticides. Our sustainable grown seed particularly benefits the local birds we are feeding. Seed grownout west in the Dakotas is produced using herbicides and insecticides. This harms those local birds by reducing insect populations and poisoning the insects on which they feed. Insecticides also kill aquatic invertebrates that ducklings feed on. Nationally, harm is done because of chemical residue on the sunflower seed. Finally, our sunflower seed prices are comparable to other seed purchased at major retail centers. Although we must raise our prices this year to cover production costs, at $7.00 per 30 lb bag (member price) it is still a great deal. At the Railway Station our knowledgeable staff is available to answer any questions you may have about backyard bird feeding. We can also offer information on many other wildlife habitat projects that can be implemented on properties both large and small. By buying and feeding your birds our locally grown black oil sunflower
seed this winter you can be sure they will be feasting upon a healthier
product. SERC researches benefits of restored wetlandsSERC collaborates with CWH on a research project.to demonstrate restored wetlands filter nutrients and phosphorus from ground surface water. (Spring 1997) Delmarva fox squirrel: Ambassador of a vanishing ecosystemThe endangered fox squirrel faces increased threats from humans destroying their habitat. (Spring 1997) Butterfly gardening Butterfly gardening has become popular with all types of gardeners. (Spring 1997) Reminder: maintain your nesting boxesManmade nesting boxes need to be cleaned out and repaired prior to spring nesting season. (Spring 1997) SERC researches benefits of restored wetlands (Spring 1997) Over the last few years, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) has been collaborating with Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage (CWH) to investigate the ecological characteristics of restored agricultural wetlands on the Eastern Shore, including several wetland sites constructed by CWH. The wetlands being monitored are typically located in topographically low areas in agricultural fields on private farms. Normally constructed by plugging ditches, reshaping ground contours, and building low head dikes, the wetlands are located in areas that are often too moist to farm or areas that have low crop yields. In addition to SERC, the research effort involves a graduate student at Towson State University who is studying dragonflies, and Ph.D. candidates at the University of Maryland and George Mason University who are studying amphibians and vegetation, respectively. Research collaborations also involve scientists with the National Biological Service and the Natural Resource Conservation Service's National Wetlands Research Institutes who study soils, agricultural chemicals, hydrology, birds, mammals, and insects. This broad coalition of scientists has two focuses, both related to the overall goals of the Chesapeake Bay Program and CWH. The first objective of the study is to determine if the restored wetlands improve the quality of water that flows from adjacent agricultural fields. Key to answering this question are four of the wetlands themselves which are automated to monitor water and nutrient inputs and outputs. Data from the first automated wetland, in Queen Anne's County, demonstrates that approximately 70% of the phosphorus and 60% of the nitrogen inputs are retained annually – both well above the 40% Chesapeake Bay Program goal for nitrogen and phosphorus reduction. In addition to these encouraging results related to water quality, SERC's ongoing biological studies have determined that the restored wetlands and associated managed strips of vegetation between wetlands and agricultural fields act as magnets for plants and animals, particularly wetland associated species. The Smithsonian is encouraged by the results of the research to date and the partnerships with CWH and other research groups that reflect the long term management activities implemented at the project sites. Various sites have already served as focal points for demonstrating the approach used by CWH to regional and local conservation groups, to personnel of state and federal agencies who work on the same topics, to researchers and interested groups from abroad, and to small groups of students and educators. The results of this work will continue to influence management decisions within the region. The research also demonstrates a cost-effective and ecologically sound approach that can be used to reach management goals related to the Chesapeake Bay Program. (Dennis Whigham, Ph.D.) Dr. Whigham is a Senior Research Scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center and a member of the CWH Board of Directors. Delmara fox squirrel : Ambassador of a vanishing ecosystem (Spring 1997) Mature mixed-species forests have become very hard to find on the Delmarva Peninsula due to agriculture, development and timber management activities. Many of the remaining woodlands are relatively young due to short rotation silvicultural practices. These younger forests usually have a brushy understory, unlike the clean, more park-like look of an older growth woods. They also lack significant numbers of trees that are old enough to have developed nesting cavities that many species of wildlife (wood ducks, owls, etc) depend on. Large acreages of the remaining mixed hardwood forest have also been converted to monocultures of loblolly pine which do not provide habitat benefits to the diversity of wildlife that mixed species woodlands do. Hardwoods are vigorously controlled in these loblolly plantations and short term harvesting (rotations of 25-30 years) keeps these so-called woodlands young. One wildlife species dependent on the mature mixed hardwood woodland is the Delmarva fox squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus). This rare squirrel is distinguished from the common gray squirrel by its larger size, bushier tail, steel-gray coloring and white belly. The listing of the Delmarva fox squirrel as an endangered species in 1967 was one symptom of the systematic elimination of the mature woodland ecosystem here on the Eastern Shore. Fox squirrels were historically found throughout the entire peninsula as well as southeastern Pennsylvania and west-central New Jersey. They now occupy less that 10% of their historical range. As the mature woodlands were cleared or put under short term cutting, fox squirrels went into a population decline. The increased human population has also had negative effects on the Delmarva fox squirrel that are not as obvious as woodlands clearing and timber management. These squirrels spend a great deal of time on the ground and typically travel from habitat patch to habitat patch over land rather than through the trees as common gray squirrels do. As a result, they suffer significant mortality from being run over by automobiles. Pet dogs take their toll on these relatively slow-moving animals when human residences and activities encroach on the few remaining woodlands that support them. What can be done to save the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel and the older mixed woodlands that they and many other wildlife species depend on? For starters, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) can be enforced by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service when alterations to known Delmarva fox squirrel habitat are proposed. Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the "taking" of listed species and defines "take" as "...to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or to attempt to engage in any such conduct." Habitat alteration and destruction has been interpreted by the courts to be a "taking". Section 10 of the ESA allows for the issuance of permits for the "incidental take" of a listed species when the take will occur as part of an otherwise lawful activity (logging or housing construction). Permits for the "incidental take" may only be issued when the applicant has developed an approved Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) which minimizes and mitigates the impacts of the proposed activity on the endangered species. Such plans have been used in the Southeast to protect the Red-cockaded woodpecker and its habitat. CWH is working with the USFWS to encourage them to require incidental
take permits (and subsequent HCP's) when proposed activities will impact
the Delmarva fox squirrel habitat. We believe that our work in this regard
is critical to the survival of the squirrel and other species dependent
on older mixed woodlands with the large increase in human population enveloping
the Delmarva peninsula. (Ned Gerber) Butterfly gardening (Spring 1997) In the past several years, butterfly gardening has become quite popular with all types of gardeners. Not only do butterflies provide color and life to the yardscape, they can also actively pollinate various garden plants. One of the most satisfying aspects of butterfly gardening is ensuring the continued and increased prosperity of common butterflies that are threatened by the destruction of their wild habitats. Sixty-one species of butterflies are found on Delmarva. Selecting the proper location, cultivating specific food plants of selected butterfly species and providing proper conditions for egg laying, caterpillar survival and metamorphosis can regulate what species are attracted to your garden. By supplying food, sunlight, shelter and water, you will have a greater chance of attracting butterflies and convincing them to stay in your garden. - The first step is to choose a sunny spot – most garden butterflies prefer sunny areas. - Location is also important to consider in providing protection from predators. Avoid wide-open areas where birds can easily spot their prey on open plant stems. - Select native plant species that will attract butterflies and provide food for their larvae. Native plants are adapted to weather, insects and other local growing conditions and require less chemical input while offering a more natural setting to butterfly visitors. - Walls or borders of shrubs and trees around the butterfly garden provides adequate shelter from wind. - Butterflies are attracted to puddles. Wet sand and mud are the best puddle foundations as butterflies cannot drink from open water. Place rocks or sticks in the sand or mud for use as perches from which to drink. - Meadows provide hiding places for egg laying, larva food and nectar sources. - Some common plants that attract butterflies include: butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, common milkweed, purple coneflower, New England aster, joe-pye weed, goldenrod, aster, tickseed, black-eyed Susan, coreopsis. - Flowers preferred by butterflies are not necessarily the food of choice
for its caterpillar. Common caterpillar foods include: parsley, fennel,
New England aster, pussytoes, milkweeds, thistle, nettle and clover. (Andi
Pupke) Reminder: maintain your nesting boxes (Spring 1997) With a new warmth in the air it's time to prepare your boxes for early spring nesting birds. Having recently watched two male bluebirds challenging each other over a bluebird box served as a reminder to inspect their boxes now that winter seems to be drawing to an end. Bluebird boxes and purple martin houses should be cleared of any debris and old nests at this time of year as they are often used as roosting boxes or cover for hibernating caterpillars during the winter months. Bluebirds will readily use a clean box as a nesting site. Unkempt boxes nay promote disease and parasites that can be harmful to the young and to the brooding female. Wood duck boxes should be cleared out and laid with a fresh bed of wood chips in January. Woodies nest much earlier than bluebirds and purple martins. Once nesting season begins it is important to check bluebird boxes periodically to dispose of unwanted starling and sparrow nests. Purple martin houses normally won't need summer maintenance unless a significant population is present. Most important – be sure your nesting boxes re properly guarded against predation. Many of you have reported watching a black snake slither up the post of an occupied nesting box and consume its little inhabitants. We recommend a metal cone shield attached directly to a 4" x 4" landscape timber post. These predator guards can be purchased at the CWH Railway Station office for $10.00 each. Information on this pages is property of Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage and may not be |