So today was an exciting day for the Berks Bluebirds Team because we actually got to go out into the field and visit each and everyone of our 5 birdhouses. Our Bluebird houses are scattered throughout the campus along the edges of the Penn State property along Tulpehocken Road which is located behind the residence halls. Today, Nicolette, Hunter and I went out to each house and opened all of the houses and were able to clear them of the nests that were previously there from the year prior. By doing so we were able to see just how these birds build their nests, what they build their nests out of and get a better perspective o

n how important these houses are to their survival and growth. Each birdhouse had a nest in it and the twigs, grass, etc were nicely bundled up into a neat cluster which almost filled the entire birdhouse which surprised us! We were also told by one of the Penn State Berks Maintenance Crew who usually takes care of these birdhouses told us that Blue birds are not the only bird species to utilize these birdhouses.English Sparrows are another type of bird that populates this area and he said that these birds are mean and try to kick the bluebirds out of the houses. He also told us that we can tell when an English Sparrow is trying to build a nest because they do not use the typical twigs, leaves, grass, etc that bluebirds use; instead they will typically use garbage they find on the ground as well as some leaves and twigs, but mostly garbage. If we see these kinds of nests forming then we are supposed to get rid of them in order to make room for the bluebirds to make their nests. We actually found a nest in one of the houses that contained a lot of garbage and we suspect that this nest was created by one of these English Sparrows. We will be monitoring the progress of the nests and houses for the remaining weeks to come and see what kinds of birds are actually populating the birdhouses. Feel free to take a look at our birdhouses and the progress we made today!

So basically my team will be working with the Maintenance and Outdoor Staff here on the Berks Campus with our attention focusing on the Eastern Bluebird Birdhouses that are scattered throughout campus. Our job will be to go out and take a look at the condition of the birdhouses in our specific location on campus and clean them and search for any possible damage to them. Then, we will decide if one needs to be replaced or if we need to add another birdhouse in the designated location. In order to properly maintain a\and or build a new one we will have to research the Eastern Bluebird and find our all about their likes/dislikes/preferences, and what kind of habitats are perfect for them and how to best maintain them. After we have gathered all the necessary information we will relay this information to the M&O Staff and take the necessary next steps. After this we will closely monitor the birdhouses and make sure that nothing is wrong or damaged throughout the semester and we can actually see if these Eastern Bluebirds are actually utilizing the houses or are other bird species claiming them for their home.