In July, the Greater Princeton Branch of AYLUS Light as Feather Committee members continued the bluebird box watching project with Mercer County Park Commission.
The Eastern Bluebird is a formerly threatened bird species that has made a tremendous comeback because of the efforts of amateur conservationists throughout the United States. Mercer County Park Commission staff and volunteers aid the nesting of bluebirds and other native bird species by monitoring boxes for nesting attempts by non-native birds.
The Mercer County Park Commission has five bluebird box monitoring locations available. One is at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm/Princeton Country Club (Lawrence/Pennington), one at Mercer Oaks Golf Course (Hamilton/West Windsor), one is at Mountain View Golf Course (Ewing), and two at Mercer County Park (Hamilton/West Windsor). Monitoring is typically a once per week commitment from about March through July.
Xiangcheng Ying found out there are still nestlings that have hatched and some House Wren eggs, then no more in the second week! Amber Yu went to the Princeton Country Club and did a final check on the bluebird boxes. She saw that a bird had come out from Box#10 and there was an egg in the nest. Unfortunately, the door of Box#2 was broken and Box#11 fell to the ground. To conclude this project, Amber has submitted the data and reported the accidents to Mercer County Park. This was a very rewarding project. Thank AYLUS for the great opportunity!
Volunteers: Xiangcheng Ying (7/30, 3 hrs; 8/7, 3 hrs), Amber Yu (7/30, 3 hrs), and more.
