2025 Bluebird Nesting Season Final Report

By Mary Miller, Bluebird Trail Coordinator

Final Report (8-18-2025) for 2025 BB Nesting Season:

Carrollwood Village Park: 20 BB fledglings

Flatwoods Park: 190 fledglings (177 BB, 13 CC)

Hunter's Green Park: 45 fledglings (42 BB, 3 CC)

Lake Park: 133 fledglings (117 BB, 11 CW, 5 TM)

Lettuce Lake Park: 13 fledglings (9 CC, 4 CW)

Lithia Springs Park: 7 BB fledglings

MacDill AFB: 37 fledglings (35 BB, 1 CC, 1 Brown-headed Cowbird)

Sargeant's Park: 2 BB fledglings 

All the parks have done well this year. Totals for the 8 parks are 447 fledglings (401 BB, 26 CC, 5 TM, 15 CW, and 1 Cowbird).  

Lake Park and Hunter's Green Park still have one box each with chicks remaining that are expected to fledge next week, so I already counted them in our totals.

Today was a beautiful day on the Flatwoods BB Trail and it is also the end of the 2025 BB nesting season at the park. We have a total of 190 fledglings (177 BB, 13 CC). This is one of our top number of fledglings in all the years I've been monitoring!

We're also very happy that our 5 bat houses that we installed, are all occupied with Evening Bats, and the bats have not occupied many of our bluebird boxes since we put up houses for them. 

We were delighted to see 3 water birds sitting together on a log--a Tri-colored Heron, an Anhinga, and a Green Heron, which we rarely see at Flatwoods. In addition, we saw Mourning and Common Ground Doves, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Great Egrets, a Great Blue Heron, a Turkey Vulture, a Red-shouldered Hawk, a Pileated Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireos, a Fish Crow, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Towhees, and Northern Cardinals. As we were finishing the trail, a rabbit ran in front of us.

Still blooming and very showy right now are Scarlet Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) and Rusty Lyonia (Lyonia ferruginea).

In summary, the success of these 8 BB Trails this year is due in large part to the following people.

Thanks to:

    • Bluebird Trail Monitors Sonya Rose (Carrollwood Village Park), who had a very successful first year, Joni Hartzler and Gary Krotz (Lake Park), Nancy Eydmann and Carolyn Persad (Lithia Springs Park), Sherry Keller (Lettuce Lake Park), Patricia O'Brien- Giglia (Hunter's Green), Roxie Custalow (Sargeant's Park), Lynn Mitchell & MicMcCarty (MacDill AFB).

    • Sherry Keller and Roxie Custalow, who are excellent photographers and wonderful teammates at Flatwoods Park with me.

    • Scott Radford, Roxie Custalow,  and all our other wonderful sponsors and donors for supporting this project and providing the funds to keep the trails in good shape.

    • All the other photographers, including Irwin Schuster, George Veazey, Mike Fite, Dale Goebel, John Miller and Clint Perigard.

    • Thanks to Tina Patterson and Merrilee Wallbrunn, who can always supply the right native plant ID when I can't find it.

    • Thanks to Tampa Audubon Society, the Suncoast Native Plant Society, and their Officers and Board members who are so supportive of this project!

    • The Flatwoods Park staff, especially Senior Park Manager, Rodney Petty,  Josh Stroud, Dixie Morgan, and all the rangers who are very protective of the Bluebirds and all other wildlife at Flatwoods and are always willing to help at a moments notice.

    • My loyal volunteers, in addition to Sherry and Roxie, are Irwin Schuster, Mike Keller, Janet Amendola, who are ready to help keep the trail in shape for the birds.

    • Last, but not least, my husband, John, who always lends a hand when I need it!

I'm already preparing for the 2026 BB Nesting Season, and in January I will notify Tampa Audubon Society members and all past sponsors to let them know it's time to sign up again for 2026. Thanks again for your support and I'll look forward to hearing from you again next year!