Bluebird Houses Ready to be Installed

The town has launched a pilot program to create nesting sites for the native bluebird which has seen a decline in population in the last few decades due to loss of habitat and competition from non-native birds.

At a workshop Wednesday night at the , members of the Environmental Commission helped volunteers build the wooden birdhouses from six pre-cut pieces. 

Environmental Planner Suzanne Simone said the wood was donated by the state because it's too rough for construction. "It's good for birdhouses," she said. Public Work employees had previously drilled air holes in the side and bottom panels and made-pre-drilled holes that were used to screw the pieces together.

Around the table, children worked with their parents to construct the birdhouses which have a front panel that rotates open to allow the nest box to be cleaned out in the fall.

Five bluebird houses will be installed at the town-owned Boulder Knoll Farm on Boulder Road which has the type of grassland habitat that is favored by the birds.

The volunteers agreed to adopt the birdhouses and monitor them through the summer to record whether a nest is being built and if any eggs have hatched. Reports and photos will be collected and recorded by Simone 

Information provided from Simone shows that it takes a bluebird from two to six days to build a nest. Egg laying lasts from five to seven days. The birds sit on the eggs for up to two weeks. Once the hatching begins, all of the eggs generally hatch within 24 to 48 hours.