[Bluebird-babble] Mountain Bluebirds--western Fremont Cty

[Christina.Mitchell at UCHSC.edu]

Greetings, bluebird fans--
 
We have our typical early pair of Mountain Bluebirds that appeared on Sunday here in Coaldale.  (The remaining 2 or 3 pairs that we get usually don't come until mid-April.)  We have seen them both enter at least one box but without any nesting material--trying it on for size, I guess.  We have about 40 acres and over 100 nestboxes, which we're going to try to monitor as best we can.  We've never monitored the boxes during the breeding season--just cleaned them out in the Fall and had great fun guessing what species nested where.  (Easiest to discern--Ash-throated Flycatcher.  Amazingly messy nest and always--at least so far--with some cow/horse manure or dog poop in the nest.  All the better to catch flies, perhaps...)  
 
But I digress.  Since we're going to try to monitor during the nesting season, how do you know when to start checking?  I would imagine that once the nest has eggs, the parents aren't likely to be permanently scared off by such odd human behavior.  But what about when they're still checking out boxes?  Would such activity interfere with their selection activities?  Am I totally anthropomorphizing?  This question pertains to our other cavity nesters as well--Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow.  Any thoughts or advice would be great.  Thanks!
 
Tina Mitchell
Coaldale, CO (~7200' in pinyon/juniper habitat, about 1 mile as the bluebird flies from the Arkansas River, in the rain shadow of the northern Sangres)
Christina.Mitchell at UCHSC.edu 
 
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