How Does the Distance Away from Trails Affect Bluebird Nesting

The animals of Connecticut can face many problems as climate change and human development continue to progress. One particular animal that is facing many different issues is the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). Unfortunately, this species has had a particularly hard time nesting over the past few years. This is mostly due to a loss of habitat due to human disturbance, but it also could be linked to habitats being taken by other bird species, such as the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). Due to this, the Audubon at the Bent of the River has set up bird houses around the property in order to provide ideal habitats for these nesting bluebirds. Every week during the summer, the contents of these bird houses are recorded and managed according to the situation (such as removing hornet nests or dead animals). In addition, some of these boxes were also protected from predators by adding grease to the poles or adding a funnel-like cover below the box. Although these boxes have provided homes for some bluebirds, some of the boxes were very close to the trails, causing many to wonder if the boxes proximity to hikers caused the bluebirds to nest elsewhere. The objective of the project is to assess if the distance between the bluebird boxes and trail has any effect on its contents. The outcome of this project will provide essential information when building, installing and maintaining future bluebird boxes. To address this objective, data on the contents of the bird houses collected over the last three years, and proximity of the box to the nearest trail were used. The findings of the project indicated that the success of bluebird nests appeared to be uncorrelated to the boxes' proximity to the trails. This could potentially mean that the distance from the trail does not affect the rate of bluebird nesting, but more research should be conducted before any official conclusions are made.