Bluebird Trail Report: July 21, 2025

By Mary Miller, Bluebird Trail Coordinator

Below are the reports of our 8 BB Trails:

Carrollwood Village Park: 4 BB chicks, 16 BB fledglings.

Flatwood Park: 17 BB eggs, 5 chicks, 187 fledglings (174 BB, 13 CC) 

Hunter's Green Park: 41 fledglings (38 BB, 3 CC)

Lake Park:5 BB eggs, 6 chicks, 121 fledglings (105 BB, 11 CW, 5 TM)

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

Lithia Springs Park: 4 BB eggs, 7 BB fledglings

MacDill AFB: 29 fledglings (27 BB, 1 CC, 1 Brown-headed Cowbird)

Sargeant's Park: 2 BB fledglings

It was another very hot day on the Flatwoods Park BB Trail, and we have 9 remaining active nests. We have 17 BB eggs, 5 chicks, 187 fledglings (174 BB, 13 CC). See attached spreadsheet for details.

Several of our BB Trails have 3rd nestings. However, Hunter's Green has the beginning of a 4th nesting in one box! Hope they all make it!

In addition to the Eastern Bluebirds we saw, today was all about Doves. We saw 14 Common Ground and 18 Mourning Doves all along the trail. We also saw a Roseate Spoonbill, with very few pink feathers, and a Limpkin for the first time in a long time.

In addition, we saw the pair of Anhingas that we see every week, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Crow, Carolina Chickadees, a White-eyed Vireo, a Little Blue Heron, a Great Blue Heron, Northern Bobwhite Quails, a Red-shouldered Hawk, Black and Turkey Vultures, a Tufted Titmice, Eastern Towhees, Northern Cardinals, and a Gopher Tortoise.  

There had been a controlled burn over the weekend, but we still saw lots of blooming plants. We spotted some beautiful Musky Mints (Hyptis alata), Frog-fruit (Phyla nodiflora), which is the host plant for the Peacock Butterfly, all over the place, and Morning Glories (Ipomoca sagittata).