LOCALS
FOR THE BIRDS Bill Satterwhite has been helping Raleigh bluebirds for decades by SUSANNA KLINGENBERG
O
n a fateful Saturday in 1992, Bill Satterwhite was teaching a Master Gardener class at Historic Oak View County Park when one of his students found an old bluebird box in a supply shed. “Hey, Bill!” the student said. “Know how to hang a bluebird box?” “Sure I do!” he replied. Satterwhite actually didn’t know how to hang a bluebird box. But he did like a challenge.
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photography by S.P. MURRAY
After a bit of reading—this was before YouTube, after all—he returned to the park to install the box. By the time he’d stepped back to make sure it was level, a pair of bluebirds were already inspecting the box. Satterwhite laughs at the memory: “That’ll get you hooked!” Now, at 99 years old, Satterwhite is still hooked. Affectionately known as Mr. Bluebird, his knowledge, commitment and infectious enthusiasm for bluebirds has helped the bird recover from near
extinction in Wake County. Years ago, the Eastern bluebird could be spotted regularly in North Carolina. But the brightly colored species depend on old wooden fence posts and dead trees to build their nests. “When people clear land,” Satterwhite says, “they eliminate those possibilities. So bluebirds have become endangered. Today, without manmade boxes, we would have no bluebirds.” Thanks to Satterwhite, bluebirds in Raleigh have plenty of boxes to call
