The bluebirds, wrens, tree swallows, and purple martins, that is! Three volunteers from the Friends of Hamlin Beach State Park conduct an annual census of these birds. Jackie Galle, Maryann Hurlbut, and Jim Lugert monitor the nest boxes throughout Hamlin Beach State Park from April through August. They begin checking to see if any critters have inhabited the boxes during the winter, cleaning out the boxes and spraying them with a mild disinfectant. Then, they monitor the boxes to check for evidence of nest building. Once a week, the Friends check every one of the 36 bluebird boxes and 14 purple martin boxes in their ‘condo,’ counting the eggs laid, chicks hatched and fledged.
Several birds have two or three broods during the summer. This year, five nest boxes contained two broods, with a total of 96 bluebirds hatched. Tree swallows also used the bluebird boxes, occupying 11 boxes and fledging 67, while house wrens built nests in three houses. Over the summer, a house may be occupied by a bluebird after a tree swallow has successfully had a brood.
Purple martins are very social birds and enjoy living near each other: thus, a purple martin ‘condo’ was erected next to the Park Office. Of the 14 units, nine were occupied this summer resulting in 17 chicks. The condo and the nest boxes will be taken down in the fall, cleaned, and stored for the winter, ready to go up again in the spring.
The volunteers just completed their fourth year collecting statistics on the bluebirds, sending their results to the New York State Bluebird Society. The bluebird is New York State’s designated bird and numbers have been in decline, primarily because of competition for nesting sites by invasive sparrows. People across the state help in the restoration of the state bird by providing bluebird houses in their yards.
Anyone interested in purchasing a bluebird house may contact the Friends of Hamlin Beach State Park at facebook.com/FOHBSP or hamlinbeach.org.
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