BB Trail DWMP

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy People and Wildlife Living in Harmony

New Bluebird Nestbox Trail at the Dulles Wetlands Mitigation Project!
July 2007

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“A nature lover is someone who, when treed by a bear, enjoys the view.”

- unknown

Many thanks to Kirby Calderwood, his parents, Pixie and Kerry, and the 17 other scouts and families that participated in building the boxes and predator guards and setting them up! (From the left) Scott Hiatt, Connor Calderwood, Kevin Johnson, Jason Allred, Kerry Calderwood, Pixie Calderwood, Kirby Calderwood- kneeling in front (Tyler Calderwood left early but also participated in setting up the boxes) Roll over images below for more views
	Building the nestboxes went smoothly after the materials had been purchased and cut to size
In addition to using cedar wood for the boxes, which will last for years, the scouts assembled predator guards to keep the bluebirds that use the boxes safe
	Ten nestbox set-ups were constructed in total. This will make for a great trail that is easily monitored by volunteers in just over an hour
At the trail site, we identified the locations for the boxes, leaving proper distance between them and making sure they were not put against the tree line. Selecting the proper habitat is critical to welcoming bluebirds to the boxes
	As we identified locations, Kerry cut the poles down to about 7' lengths so that after "planting" them, nestbox holes would be at about 5' off the ground
Driving the poles into the ground was a team effort but the young men did a great job!
That fall, Nicole Hamilton winterized the boxes by adding some dried grass to the bottom of each box. This provided a place for bluebirds and other native cavity nesters to roost through the winter. In the spring, she set up a monitoring team that started monitoring the trail and collecting data
About the Dulles Wetlands Mitigation Project (DWMP): The Dulles Greenway's construction resulted in the loss of approximately 64 acres of federally protected wetlands. The Dulles Greenway, under the Army Corp of Engineers 404 permit, mitigated 149 acres. This mitigation represents a 2:1 replacement ratio for forested wetlands and a 1.5:1 replacement ratio for emergent wetlands. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy conducts bird walks on this property with permission from the Dulles Greenway Management and will now oversee the monitoring of this new bluebird nestbox trail.