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NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 1
Tennessee Bluebird Society Honor Roll(Life Time Members)
Margaret BeasleySue BradleyStan & Linda ColburnChuck & Cecelia CruickshankMary CushmanKathy DooleyRaymond DunavantChuck & Terry JamesRosalind & George KuritaJohn LangleyMort MasseyJerry & Dianna RystickenFarrell & Jane RoeDonald TurnerDr. Heather WilkinsInterested in becoming a
Tennessee Bluebird Society Life Time Member? For more details see the application on the last page of this newsletter.
Spring 2018 Edition
Bluebirds are living, breathing gifts from God and if we are to offer housing to them,
we must be prepared to offer the safest situation we can. - Ninapearl, 2005
BLUEBIRD QUOTES
In This IssuePresident’s Letter
Five Lessons About Bluebirds That I Learned The Hard Way by: Don HazelAround Tennessee
Extraordinary Winter Birds In Tennessee by: Mort Massey
Bluebird News From The University of Tennessee Arboretum By: Michelle Campanis
Painting by: Nick Farrell
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 2
Now’stheTime…
AsIcomposethesethoughtsduringthethirdweek
inFebruary,itoccurstome
how8meandnaturemove
onregardlessofcalendars
andour8metables.Aquick
checkofTheWeather
ChannelsaysTennesseewill
experiencetemperaturesinthe70’sforthenext
week.Alookaroundtheyardshowsthathyacinths,
daffodilsanddandelionsarealreadyinbloom.Our
“peepers”aresingingwhenmoisturedictates,and
insectshavemadetheirreturn.Ialsoobservedtree
swallowsonawalkwiththedogyesterday,soallthe
signsarethere.IknowthatMarchcanbeafickle
weathermonth,butcurrentcondi8onscangiveusa
greatstart!
Sowhatdoesthatmeanforus?
Nowisthe8metocheckournest-boxesforneeded
repairsorreplacementpriortoour2018nes8ng
season.Havingtheboxesingoodrepairandstable
willins8llconfidenceinourfeatheredfriendsasthey
starttolookfornes8ngsites.Currentboxesneedto
becleanedout.I’veno8cedseveralofourlocalnest-
boxesthathavebeenusedasroos8ngloca8onswhen
itwassocoldinJanuary.Manuredepositsfromthat
ac8vityneedtoberemoved,andanyentranceholes
enlargedbysquirrelsneedtoberepairedtothe1½
inchdiametertodiscouragepredators.
Nowisalsothe8meforyoutrail-monitoring
coordinatorstostartaligningyourobserva8on
teamsfortheirweeklyvisits.Doyouhavenew
membersthatneedsometraining?Wehavefolks
onourmembershiprosterthatcanhelpwiththat
process.ContactanyTBSBoardmemberfor
assistance,orgototheCornellOrnithologyNest
Watchsitetodownloadthemanual.
Here’salinktothatloca8on:hZp://
www.birds.cornell.edu/bbimages/
nestwatch/pdf_copy/
NestWatchManual.pdf
Soasweheadintospring,I’dliketothank,in
advanceallthevolunteersthatwillbeendeavoring
tomake2018anothergoodyearforourfeathered
friends.Let’skeepthegreatmomentumfromthe
pastfouryearsgoing!
HappyBirding!
ChuckCruickshank
PRESIDENT’S LETTER CHUCK CRUICKSHANK
Chuck Cruickshank
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 3
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS
7240 Kingston Pike Ste. 164, Knoxville, TN 37919(865) 337-5990 www.knoxville.wbu.com
Shop Wild Birds Unlimited forall your Bluebird needs!
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 4
FIVE LESSONS ABOUT BLUEBIRDS THAT I LEARNED THE HARD WAY BY: DON HAZEL
Usuallythe
lessonsthat
youlearnthehardways8ckwithyoua
lotlongerthanthelessonsthatyoujust
readabout.Hereare5thingsabout
bluebirdsthatIdidn'tlearnfrombooks.
TwelveyearsagowhenImovedto
Tennessee,oneofthefirstthingsIdidinmy
newyardwastoputupabluebirdbox.And
shortly,therewasanewnestandmyfirst
Tennesseebluebirdegg.Thenextdaythere
wasa2ndeggrightonschedule.Butthethird
daytherewasnone.Justgone.Dayfour
broughtanothersingleegg.Dayfive...gone.I
wasn'traisingbluebirds,Iwasfeedinga
Tennesseeratsnake.Lesson1-Withouta
predatorguardyoumayjustbefeedingthe
wildlife.
AdaylaterIalsoinstalledapredatorguardon
thebluebirdboxthatIhadgiventomy
neighbor.Hedidn'ttellme,buthedidn'tlike
thewaythepredatorguardwobbledonthe
pole,sohewireditsolid.Severalweekslatera
raccoonclimbedthepredatorguardandate
fivebabies,andmaybethemother,too.
Lesson2-AKingstonstovepipepredatorguard
iseasytomakeandtheyaremadetowobble.
Onanotherinstalla8on,Ilostanesttoa
raccoon.Ihadapredatorguard,butIinstalled
itjustabovegroundlevel,whichjustmadeit
easyforaraccoontostandontop
oftheconvenientplacormto
reachuptothebox.Lesson3-
Don'tmountyourpredator
guardstoolow,installthem
justafewinchesbelowthe
nestbox.
Thefirstyearthatour
bluebirdclubmonitored
boxesatagolfcourse,we
foundsevendeadtree
swallowsinseveralof
theboxesintheearly
spring.Treeswallows
canhavetrouble
geengoutofa
smoothsidedbox,
especiallyafer
thelongflight
homefromwinter
inMexico.Aferinstalling
screen"fledgingladders"onevery
box,wehavenotlostanothertreeswallow.
Lesson4-A"fledglingladder"madeoutof
screenoretchedintothewoodwillsavemany
treeswallows.
Atourgolfcoursetrail,severaloftheboxes
wereintheroughareaofthecourse.Asthe
summerprogressedthevegeta8ongrew
thickerandhigheraroundthebluebirdbox.
Theboxesinthehighvegeta8onallhadhigher
instancesofratsnakepreda8onthantheboxes
intheopen.Lesson5-Don'tprovidecoverfor
predators.
Thatisjust5ofmanylessonsthatIhave
Don Hazel
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 5
Around Tennessee
OnSaturday,February3,2018,ChuckCruickshank,
PresidentoftheTennesseeBluebirdSociety,gavea
basicbluebirdtalkatWildBirdsUnlimited,Knoxville
toasellout
crowdof70
interested
bluebirders.This
isthefourthyear
TBShasgivena
Presenta8onat
WildBirds
Unlimited.Once
againWildBirds
Unlimited,
KnoxvillewillbeaCorporateSponsorofthe
TennesseeBluebirdSociety.ThankyouLizandTony
Cutrone.WildBirdsUnlimitedislocatedat7240
KingstonPike,Suite164,Knoxville,TN
———————————
DonHazelrecentlygaveabluebird
presenta8on
atthe
Crossville
RotaryClub.
Heexplained
thereasons
forthe
Bluebird
houses
placedin
BearTrace
andseveral
Fairfield
Glade
courses.
Ini8al
program
beganat
BearTrace
andnowinvolvesabout40people
monitoringBluebirdhouses.
—————————————————————————
FredRobertsonandtheShelbyCountyChapterhadaverysuccessfulpresenta8onattheMillingtonLibraryon
January27,2018,with33inaZendance.Lotsof
ques8onsandlotsofenthusiasminprepara8onfor2018
nes8ngseason.Millingtonnowhas30nestboxeswith
RayDunavantmonitoringandresponsibleforgeengall
oftheminstalled.ThankyouRay.
—————————————————————————
UTArboretuminOakRidge,TNwasthesighton
February22,2018whentheTennesseeBluebirdSociety
incorpora8onwithUTArboretumstartedtheprocess
ofestablishingabluebirdtrailfortheparksvisitorsto
enjoy.Agroupofvolunteerswillbesharingthe
monitoringdu8es.
Don Hazel telling us how it is with Bluebirds.
L-R Kevin Hoyt UT Arboretum Center Director, Don WilliamsTrails Volunteer, Stan Colburn TN Bluebird Society Board Member
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 6
WhilemostTennesseansbundleduptokeep
warmduringthebiZer
coldofJanuaryand
February,interes8ngthings
weregoingoninthebird
worldacrossthestate.
Theextremecoldcaused
muchfreezingofthelakes
fartothenorthofus.The
resultwasan
invasionofbirdsinto
Tennesseethatwe
rarelygettosee.
Themostinteres8ng
familyofbirdsto
showupwerethe
swans.
Thereare3regularly
occurringswan
speciesinNorth
America.Theseare
Trumpeter,MuteandTundraSwans.Theyall
threearelargewhitebirdsabout28mesthe
sizeofaCanadaGoosewithverylongnecks.
Theylookstrikinglysimilarandcanbedifficult
forevenexperiencedbirdwatcherstoiden8fy
unlesstheyaresidebyside.Inmostyearsthe
statewillseelessthan10MuteandTundra
SwansandusuallynoTrumpeterSwans.But
thisyearwasdifferent.
InearlyJanuarywhenthefirstbiZercoldspell
hit,theswansstartedshowingup.Groupsof
allthreespeciesbeganbeingreportedallover
thestate.Therarest,
TrumpeterSwans,
werefirstseenin
ClintonTennessee
buthavesincebeen
reportedatleast5
more8mes.There
hasprobablybeen10
groupsofMuteSwans
ofenwith4–12
birdsinagroup
reported.Iwould
suspectwehavehadover100oftheseand
manyhavestuckaroundforweeksfeedingin
ourlakes.
EXTRAORDINARYWINTEROFBIRDSINTENNESSEEBY:MORTONMASSEY
Mort Massey
Photo by: Ron Shrieves - 5 Adult Mute Swans (Orange Bills), 4 Immature Trumpeter SwansMelton Lake Park, Near, Clinton, TN, January 2018
Tundra Swan
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 7
EXTRAORDINARYWINTEROFBIRDSINTENNESSEEBY:MORTONMASSEY
TundraSwanshavebeenreportedinprobably15
different
loca8onstoo.
Notonlyhave
swansshowedup
butalsomany
otherbirdswe
don’tofengetto
seemuch.There
havebeenmany
reportsofrare
gulls,ducks,
scotersand
loons.Wehave
alsohadan
invasionofShort-
earedOwls.
Unfortunately,no
onehasreported
thesuperrare
SnowyOwl.
Again,allof
thisisdueto
biZercoldup
northandthe
lakesfreezing.
Birdscome
southforopen
waterand
hun8ng
groundsnot
coveredwithlotsofsnow.Totheavidbird
watchers,thishas
beenoneofthebestwintersever.
FromwhatIhave
observed,the
EasternBluebird
popula8onhas
fairedpreZywell
duringthecold
weather.
We would like to
thank Morton
Massey for his
work with the
Tennessee
Bluebird Society.
In addition to
being a Life
Member of TBS,
Mort has taken time out of his
busy schedule to help TBS
with a wonderful presentation
at our annual meeting last
fall, connecting us with UT
Arboretum and his continued
work at Seven Islands State
Birding Park.
Mort Massey is a member of
the Knoxville Chapter of the
Tennessee Ornithological Society and a very well
respected life long birder
Snowy Owl
Short-eared Owl
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 8
BLUEBIRD NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE ARBORETUM! BY MICHELLE CAMPANIS
LastfallImetamemberoftheTennessee
BluebirdSocietyat
afes8valand
expressed
interestin
star8nga
Bluebird
trailatthe
UT
Arboretum
whereI
amthe
coordinator
ofeduca8onprograms.Itonlytookone
commentforseveralmembersofthe
TennesseeBluebirdSocietytoexpress
interestinhelpingusandsincethen
wehavehadprogramsforchildren,
adultsandinstalledanewbluebirdtrail
here!
Westartedwithaplanningmee8ng
withChuckJames,Chuck
Cruickshank
andStan
Colburn.We
iden8fieda
possibletrail
siteinthe
arboretum
andmadea
planforUT
Arboretum
Society
volunteerstobe
trainedto
properlymonitor
thebluebird
boxes.We
plannedtwo
programsforour
localcommunityto
s8mulateinterestandknowledgeofbluebirds.
Thefirstprogram,BluebirdBasics,had60
peopleaZend!ChuckCruickshankandStan
Colburnsharedabout
bluebirdsandstayedto
answerques8onsfrom
thestandingroom
audience.Thesecond
program,BluebirdNest
boxMonitoringTraining
wasspecificallygearedto
trainourmonitoring
volunteers,whohave
namedthemselves
“bluebirdbuddies”,the
propermethodsfor
monitoringandwealso
hadseveralmembersof
thecommunityjoinus.
Localschoolshave
showedalotofinterest
inlearningabout
bluebirds!Chuckand
Stanwentwithmeto
WillowElementary
wheretheyhada
bluebirdprogramfor
BrownieTroop
21158.Jerry
Luckmannandher
troophelpedbuild
fourbirdhouses
withStanand
Chuck’sguidance
thattheydonated
forthenewtrail
attheUT
Arboretum.(See
Photo’sonPage
9ofBrownie
Troopbuildingbluebirdboxes)
Michelle Campanis
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 9
Iprovidedaprogramfora
kindergartenclassatLinden
ElementaryonFebruary
22ndwherethestudents
learnedwaystohelp
bluebirdsthrive.Theyhave
twobluebirdboxesontheir
playgroundthattheywillbe
watching.
February22ndwasan
exci8ngdayforus–whileI
wasdoing
the
programat
Linden
Elementary,
ChuckJames,Colburn,Stan,UTArboretum
Societyvolunteer,DonWilliams,andour
director,
KevinHoyt,
installedthe
firstphaseof
thenew
bluebirdtrail
attheUT
Arboretum.
Wewillbe
geengour
bluebird
monitoring
teamsbusythisspringandareexcitedto
seewhomoves
inforthefirst
seasoninour
newbluebird
houses.Wewill
bemakinga
maptoinclude
thenew
bluebirdtrail
andwouldlove
tohaveyouvisit
usattheUT
Arboretum
inOakRidge.
Michele
Campanis is the Arboretum
Education Program Coordinator
for the UT
L-R Kevin Hoyt UT Arboretum Center Director, Don WilliamsTrails Volunteer, Stan Colburn TN Bluebird Society Board Member
BLUEBIRD NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE ARBORETUM! BY MICHELLE CAMPANIS
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME MARCH 2018
PAGE 10
Tennessee Bluebird Society Board of Directors
Eastern Region:Stan Colburn - LoudonChuck Cruickshank -LoudonKathy Dooley - LoudonDon Hazel - CrossvilleChuck James - LoudonJerry Rysticken - Farragut
Central Region:Rosemary Chamberlain - DicksonAndy Ecton - LebanonBeth Ecton - LebanonRosalind Kurita - ClarksvilleDuane Rice - Chapmansboro
Western Region:Fred Robertson - ColliervilleFarrell Roe - JacksonStacey Roe - JacksonJoanne Watson - Collierville
Scientific Advisor: Dawn Wilkins, PhD, UT Martin
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.tnbluebirdsociety.org
Facebook: Tennessee Bluebird Society
We need help in the following areas
* County coordinators - Give presentations to local civic groups and organize one community project per
year.
* Data Collection - Must have strong spreadsheet skills. Collect trail data and collate for
research.
* Woodworkers - Willing to build nest boxes.
* TBS Board Members - We need people interested in taking a leadership role in TBS.
* Newsletter Publisher - Must have past experience putting
together newsletters.
Email us if your interested in the above opportunities to:
NEWSLETTER FOR TBS MEMBERS VOLUME DECEMBER 2017
PAGE 11
TENNESSEE BLUEBIRD SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Did you know that when you become a member of the Tennessee Bluebird Society there is an additional benefit? Once you become a TBS member, for an additional $15 you qualify for your first membership into the North American Bluebird Society at a 50% savings. Only $15 instead of $30. Fill out the Tennessee Bluebird Society application on the last page of this newsletter. Indicate that you want a TBS Household Membership for $15.
Then by the NABS circle (Y) and add $15 for a total of $30 and send in your application. We will submit your membership to NABS.
In addition to receiving our four TBS newsletters you will receive four issues of Bluebird from the North American Bluebird Society.
Websites Tennessee Bluebird Society www.tnbluebirdsociety.org
North American Bluebird Society www.nabluebirdsociety.org
TENNESSEE BLUEBIRD SOCIETY APPLICATION
Send your application and check to: Tennessee Bluebird Society
206 Chota Landing ViewLoudon, TN 37774
Website:www.TNBluebirdsociety.org/Email:[email protected]
ContactTelephone:(865)437-9732
Category 1Year 3year Lifetime
Household $15 $35 $150NABS $15 (First Time Member with a TBS Membership) $30 ValueCorporate $150
Add only $15 to a household membership and become a member of the North American Bluebird Society a $30 value. For first time NABS Members. You will receive four issues of The Bluebird Journal of the North American Bluebird Society.
Please send your application and payment to the address at the bottom of this form
Name/ First:__________________________ Last:_________________________________________Organization:________________________________________________Address/ Street________________________________________________ Apt:____City:_______________________________ State:________ ZIP:________________ County _____________________Telephone/ Home:_____________________________ Cell: ________________________________Email: ___________________________________________________________
Membership Type:______________Amount: _________ NABS $15(Y/N) _________ Total:_________
I have interest in helping the following areas: Newsletter____, Membership_____, Education_____,Website Management______, Data Collection_____,Becoming a Board Member of Tennessee Bluebird Society____
