Bluebird Trail Report 4-1-2019
Even though it was a cool and breezy day on the Flatwoods Park Bluebird Trail, things are definitely heating up! We have our first chicks of the season! Four tiny titmice in box F21 (picture attached)! Notice that there are still 2 eggs in the nest, but since the chicks just hatched, those eggs may also. We'll know next week. I also attached a picture of the 5 beautiful bluebird eggs in box F17. We have a total of 28 nests (19 BB, 8 CC, 1 TM), with a total of 28 eggs (16 BB, 10 CC, 2 TM), and 4 titmice chicks. In addition to the bluebirds, chickadees and titmouse, I saw flocks of yellow-rumped warblers, 3 Northern bobwhite quails, ground doves, ruby-throated hummingbird, and turkey and black vultures.
The native garden is bursting with color and I've attached pictures of some of the blooming plants: blanket flower (gaillardia pulchella), spiderwort (Tradescantia obiensis), rosinweed (Silphium compositum), and coral honeysuckle (Lonicera simpervirens), a favorite of the hummingbirds.
Thanks to Cynthis Fry and Ranger Grizz Kamermayer for identifying last week's insect as a Robber Fly (Efferia albibarbis), a member of the assassin fly family, that mainly feeds on insects caught in flight.
