Nest Boxes for Urban Birds Email #3

You are receiving this e-mail because you have expressed interest in the Tucson Audubon NEST BOXES FOR URBAN BIRDS pilot project. Thank you! Without your pioneering spirit, this kind of grassroots conservation cannot happen.

Update

The nest box pilot program is underway and we are very happy that so many people have volunteered. Over 100 people have volunteered to host and monitor boxes. We have built 37 boxes, so we will not be able to give one to everybody. But there are several alternatives below. We hope you all will be able to acquire a box. Once you do, continue to look here for additional advice about mounting them. Also contact us to enroll in our nest box monitoring program.

A big "thank you" to the thirty people that have helped transport lumber, cut boards and put boxes together (over 140 hours of volunteer time)! 

Building and Buying Boxes

If you don't get one of our experimental boxes, you may be able to build your own, or buy one.

Build your own using designs we have used - Go to www.tucsonaudubon.org/nestbox and download plans for either an American Kestrel or Ash-throated Flycatcher nest box. 

Audubon Birdhouse Book - Purchase the Audubon Birdhouse Book (2013 edition). It may be available in our Tucson Audubon Nature Shop, call 520-629-0510. (As I write this the book is on back order.) It is also available from Amazon.com. A kestrel box design is available on page 91 (again, very similar to the design we used). For Ash-throated Flycatchers, us the "Xbox" design on page 51. 

Buy boxes or kits online - You can purchase a kestrel box kit online from the Peregrine Fund/American Kestrel Project. Follow this link to learn more: https://shop.peregrinefund.org. 

Local bird stores - Local bird stores like Wild Birds Unlimited (two locations in Tucson, one on Tanque Verde Road and one on Oracle Road) may also have boxes. If they have a screech-owl box, that would likely work both for screech-owls and kestrels.

Tips on Placing and Mounting your Box

American Kestrel - Kestrel boxes should be mounted at least 8-10 feet off the ground. They like the nest hole to face approximately north. It would be best if their approach to the box did not have obstacles like branches hanging down in front of it. At the same time, we believe that in our climate boxes will need as much shade as possible. An ideal place might be on the north side of a house with eaves that will shade the box. Note that in some nest box studies, kestrels have accepted nests lower to the ground when others weren't available. You will have to balance the need for height with the necessity to reach to boxes in order to open the box's door and count eggs or chicks. 

Western Screech-Owl - The kestrel box may also be used by Western Screech-Owls. Screech-owls are small, gray owls with feathers that stick up like "ears" (like the Great Horned Owl, but much smaller). Screech-owls are less picky about height and orientation. Shade on the box would always be a good idea. 

Ash-throated Flycatcher - Smaller boxes have been designed for Ash-throated Flycatcher. This medium-sized flycatcher catches nests in open desert scrub especially if there is a wash or stream in the area. They eat insects return to trees (or saguaros) with holes in them. They also like a more or less unobstructed approach to the nest. Their nests should be at least 4.5 feet off the ground with 8 feet being optimum. Mounting boxes in mesquite trees or in the vicinity of other shade sources should help to keep nest temperatures from rising too high. We believe the similar-looking Brown-crested Flycatcher will also use this kind of box.

Lucy's Warbler - This is one of the smallest warblers in North America and one of only two hole-nesting species. It also nests in more arid habitat than any other warbler. Lucy's Warbler breeds primarily in dense stands of mesquite trees and other thickets. They are generally thought not to adopt nest boxes, but we have been told by two people that they have nested in gourds. The Audubon Birdhouse Book has instructions for using gourds to make nests for Purple Martins. Instructions for Lucy's Warbler are similar, but make a much smaller entry hole (1 to 1 1/8th inch diameter). The small hole will let the warbler in but keep non-native house sparrows out. Boxes and gourds might best be mounted in dense foliage with plenty of shade. In some areas Bewick's Wren (also a very small bird) may nest in the gourd. 

Monitoring your Box

For those of you acquiring a box from us or from another source, we will ask you periodically to report results to us. We are working on what will be the most efficient system for this. We will probably set us a "community" of nest-watchers using the Nestwatch program at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. More on that soon. You tasks will consist, at least in part, of identifying what species of bird is investigating the nest, whether they are bringing in nesting materials, whether there are eggs or nestlings, and removing unwanted, non-native species like starlings or house sparrows. 

Donations

Donations toward the nest box pilot program are welcomed. You can donate online here (in the comment box note that it's for the nest box pilot program) or call Jean Barchman at 520-209-1802. 

More News Coming Soon

Meanwhile, to learn more about the project follow this link: tucsonaudubon.org/nestbox.

Questions? E-mail: Kendall Kroesen