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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI14090829/00001
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Bluebirds 1
Length of Segment: 00:01:13
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. For nineteenth century naturalist John Burrows who lived in New England, the return of the eastern blue bird was the first signal that spring was near at hand. He repeatedly linked the blue bird with peace and warmth. He said its voice seemed to be saying 'Bermuda, Bermuda,’ from once it may have come, though more likely his birds had wintered in the Carolinas or Florida. He also phrased its song as 'purity, purity,’ for there seemed to be absolutely nothing negative about these blue robins. The soft warble of eastern blue birds in early morning signals their arrival in the beginning of house-hunting. Unlike most other thrushes, the blue bird is a cavity nester. While the female selects the site, and is the primary architect of her nest and incubator of the eggs, the male seems ever present to offer encouragement, 'excellent, excellent,’ Burrows then heard the male sing. We may hear the blue bird’s voice in spring in Florida as well, but its fall when we see blue birds most commonly as they move south to escape winter weather. Perhaps John Burrows might have heard in the winter song the soft refrain: 'Florida, Florida'. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Bluebirds 2
Length of Segment: 00:01:17
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The eastern blue bird can be found from southern areas of eastern Canada, through the United States and south through the mountains of Mexico into Central America. It has also shown up in western Cuba, and the Virgin Islands, and is a resident on the island of Bermuda. While it is a resident in much of this range, it's a migrant in colder areas, leaving them to winter in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Cuba. Wherever it's found, this blue bird prefers open habitats, mowed areas or areas kept open by fire or flooding. It feeds extensively on the ground, flying from a low perch to capture insects, but it also feeds on small fruits and insects gleam from foliage. In Florida and elsewhere in the southeast, the eastern blue bird is associated with pine forests that were naturally burned by lightning-started fires. The birds moved into an area when the ground-cover was sparse and left as it became more dense. With control or elimination of fire and elimination of dead trees used as nest sites, blue bird populations declined. With fire or mowing to maintain short grass, and by providing clean, safe nest boxes, blue bird populations can survive in our changing world. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Bluebirds 3
Length of Segment: 00:01:16
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. In addition to its range in North America, the eastern blue bird is native to the tiny island of Bermuda, where it once hunted for insects and fruit on the coastal grasslands and nested in old cedars and rocky cliffs. With the arrival of humans in 1609, blue birds began to suffer. What happened on this small island reflects changes taking place in North America as well. But the changes are more evident there, because of the smallness of the blue bird population and the island it occupies. Feral cats became serious predators on blue birds. House sparrows were introduced in the early 1870s and became successful competitors for blue birds nest sites. In the 1940s, a scale insect was accidentally introduced to Bermuda, and 90% of the island's cedars were killed. Blue bird populations plummeted as sites for their nests disappeared. When European starlings colonized the island in the 1950s, they also competed for blue birds nest sites and ate blue bird eggs and nestlings. The fate of Bermuda's blue birds is an ecological disaster, but also a conservation success story. Today, eastern blue birds survive in Bermuda with intensive management and use of artificial nest boxes. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Bluebirds 4
Length of Segment: 00:01:15
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. The eastern blue bird is a resident that nests in appropriate habitat throughout Florida, except for the Keys. Its numbers, however, are greatest in northern counties and decline to the south, especially in coastal areas. Key factors in a blue bird’s presence in Florida are appropriate nesting sites, the level of competition and predation in an area, suitable feeding habitat, and a safe and dependable food supply. Blue birds nest in old woodpecker holes, natural cavities, and nest boxes. They once commonly nested in orchards and in wooden fence posts, but as forests have been cleared, orchards have been more intensively managed to remove older trees and wooden fence posts have been replaced by metal ones, blue bird nest sites have disappeared. As a result, eastern blue birds have become increasingly dependant on nest boxes. But they need more than a place to nest; an open habitat is needed too, and this was once provided by natural fire. Blue bird nest box trails have helped blue bird populations grow in many areas, and with such efforts, the overall trend for eastern blue bird populations has been positive in recent years. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Bluebirds 5
Length of Segment: 00:01:13
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. One of the conservation efforts that has really paid off in the last few decades is the development of blue bird nest box trails. Such a trail consists of safe and appropriately designed blue bird nest boxes placed and maintained in suitable habitat. Usually, the term 'blue bird trail' refers to a series of five or more nest boxes that are spaced at least a hundred yards apart. The best habitat is an open area with bordering trees. Blue bird’s perch in trees and shrubs, feed on small fruits produced by dogwoods and hollies and others, and glean insects from the ground or foliage. The distance between nest boxes is needed to avoid competition between neighboring pairs. Nest boxes should be of durable, but untreated wood, have a hinge lid so the box can be cleaned out, should be about six inches on a side and ten inches deep, and should have an entrance hole of exactly one-and-a-half inches. Each nest box should be mounted so that it is about five feet above the ground, on a smooth plastic pipe; the smooth pipe makes it difficult for predators to climb. ( English )
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- Resource Identifier:
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