BlueBirds

The land trust is committed to promote conservation and wildlife. We are very pleased to have been a sponsor of a very successful blue bird project in our community. Lifetime land trust member Joseph Swinik is the driving force behind this successful program. He has fledged more than 6500 blue birds in Seymour,Oxford and Derby over a 25 year period. He is still going strong, now that he is retired from the postal service. The land trust is offering blue bird boxes for a nominal fee, in order to help promote the resurgance of blue birds in our community. If you are interested in obtaining a blue box, you may do so by contacting Brian Barrett @ 734-3350. The cost is $15 for a Seymour Land Trust member and $20 for a non-member.

Joe Swinik is a life time member of the land trust and is responsible for fledging more than 6500 blue birds in Seymour,Oxford and Derby. He started in 1978 and is still going strong. There were more blue birds in this country than robins during the 19th century.

Blue birds have been on the decline for two reasons. There is more competition for nesting cavities and domestic cats. English sparrows are very aggressive birds and will kill blue birds in order to take over the blue birds netting cavity. Blue birds are also ground feeders , feeding on insects on the ground. This makes the blue bird very vulnerable.

You should consider placing at least two blue boxes in your yard and monitor the activity there. If English sparrows settle in, you must remove the nest immediately. Blue birds search for nesting sites in early spring. They will typically have 3 to 5 eggs in the nest and will have 2 or 3 hatches per season. The baby birds will fledge, or leave the nest in 16 to 21 days from the time they hatch. Joe removes the nest after 6 to 10 days after the hatch and removes the blow flies. These are small white maggots that will suck out the blood from the baby birds. He does not use any pesticides. The adult blue birds are not bothered by this. The babies are in the nest and remain there while you remove the maggots from the nest.

The adult blue birds do not remain in the nest after 3 days after the hatch. They are busy feeding the young blue birds and there is no room for the adult blue birds to remain in the nest after the young birds are 3 days old. Cold nights will also be fatal for young blue birds, especially since the adult blue birds do not remain on the nest. Blue birds will feed on meal worms. Place a small platform on the ground , out of the sun, and the blue birds will feed on them.

If you have any questions on blue birds, Joe welcomes your calls by calling 203 888 5290.

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