Eastern Bluebird Report: August 11, 2026 and Final 2026 Report

By Mary Miller

August 11, 2026 BB Trail Reports:

Carrollwood Village: 21 BB fledglings

Flatwoods: 3 eggs, 5 chicks (all BB), & 218 fledglings (208 BB, 10 CC)

Hunter's Green: 49 BB fledglings

Lake: 113 fledglings (91 BB, 9 CC, 4 CW, 9 TM)

Lettuce Lake: 4 CW fledglings

Lithia Springs: 11 BB fledglings

MacDill AFB: 17 BB fledglings

Sargeant's: 11 BB fledglings

Today was a beautiful day on the Flatwoods BB Trail. We only had a few boxes to check, so it went quickly. We still have 3 active boxes, so we will continue monitoring at least one more week. Today we have 3 eggs, 5 chicks (all BB), & 218 fledglings (208 BB, 10 CC).

We saw quite a few birds in the time we were at the park. We were very excited to see our first Anhinga this year. My friend, Darla, will surely enjoy that photo!

We also saw several Wood Ducks, and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in the little puddles still in the lakes. In addition, we saw Pileated and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, White-eyed Vireos, Eastern Towhees, a Great Crested Flycatcher, Tufted Titmice, Mourning and Common Ground Doves, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Killdeer, a Little Blue Heron, Black and Turkey Vultures, a Red-shouldered Hawk, Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinals, and Eastern Bluebirds.

Along the BB Trail loop we spotted some beautiful flowers in bloom including the Eupatorium Rotundfolium and the Partridge Pea.

2026 Final BB Trail Report:

Carrollwood Village: 21 BB fledglings

Flatwoods: 2 eggs, 1 chick (all BB), & 223 fledglings (213 BB, 10 CC)

Hunter's Green: 49 BB fledglings

Lake: 113 fledglings (91 BB, 9 CC, 4 CW, 9 TM)

Lettuce Lake: 4 CW fledglings

Lithia Springs: 11 BB fledglings

MacDill AFB: 17 BB fledglings

Sargeant's: 11 BB fledglings

All the parks have done well this year. Totals for the 8 parks are 449 fledglings (413 BB, 19 CC, 9 TM, 8 CW).  Flatwoods still has one box with 1 chick and 2 eggs (that might hatch) in a couple of weeks and all might fledge, so we will include those numbers in our totals if they do fledge.

August 17,2026 was a beautiful day on the Flatwoods BB Trail and it is also the end of the 2026 BB nesting season at the park.

We have a total of 223 fledglings (213 BB, 10 CC), making this year one of our highest counts 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 4 Chimney Swifts today, as well as 3 Wild Turkeys, foraging among the Dog Fennel that has taken over the dry lakes. In addition to those birds, we saw a Northern Bobwhite Quail, Common Ground Doves, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-shouldered Hawks, a Pileated Woodpecker, a White-eyed Vireo, a Tufted Titmouse, a Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebirds,  an Eastern Towhee, and a Northern Cardinal.

Still blooming in our native garden are the Coral Honeysuckle and the Rosinweed.