York County Edition
May 2014
Vol. 15 No. 5
Build a Suitable Nest and They Will Come By Lori Van Ingen
Birder Cletus Benjamin loves watching the bluebirds that now nest in the birdhouses that he and fellow residents at a local retirement community built and maintain. “Bluebirds are an attractive bird to have around,” Benjamin said. Eastern bluebirds are known for their vibrant colors and sweet songs. The males are a brilliant royal blue on the back and head, and warm red-brown on the breast. Blue tinges in the wings and tail give the grayer females an elegant look. But by the last half of the 20th century, the numbers of bluebirds had seriously declined. According to Wildlife Habitat Management Institute, the decline was due to factors such as the proliferation of the European starling and English house sparrow, the increased use of harmful pesticides, replacement of wooden fence posts with metal posts, clearing of field borders and fence rows to increase cropland acreage, and a growing human population. Now with the help of nest boxes and bluebird trails, eastern bluebirds are a more common sight. For the last four years, Benjamin and his fellow residents have been involved in maintaining a bluebird trail — from building the birdhouses in the woodshop, to driving in the stakes and putting the birdhouses up, to monitoring the trail for bluebird fledglings and keeping records. “We figured we had a few bluebirds here now, so let’s put a whole bunch more nests up,” said Benjamin, who initiated the project. please see NEST page 18 Cletus Benjamin in the workshop where he and fellow birders build their bluebird houses.
Inside:
The Wacky Worlds of Eccentric Geniuses page 6
Winter Weather Delays Senior Games a Week page 8