Bluebird Boxes Are Here!

Just in time for nesting season.

The Belvedere Civic Club is very happy to announce that we are sponsoring an initiative to help restore the Eastern Bluebird population in our community.

From the late 1800s until the 1950s, the Bluebird population in the US plummeted by 90%. There are several contributing factors for this, but one of the greatest reasons is that in the 1890s several hundred European Starlings were released at Central Park in New York City. This non-native bird is large and aggressive, spreads rapidly, and became an invasive species. It has become clear that our native Bluebirds cannot compete with them for proper nesting cavities, resulting in a much lower rate of baby Bluebird births that survive to maturity.

The Belvedere Civic Club would like to help in the effort to restore and conserve the Bluebird population by offering our neighbors a bird habitat for their yards as well as to help raise funds to support the work the BCC does in Belvedere Park.

Our beautiful, handcrafted nesting boxes are just the right size for tiny Bluebirds, with an entrance too small for European Starlings to enter. They are equipped with a metal entrance guard to keep squirrels from chewing their way in. They are made to the exacting standard of ornithological societies. And each one is hand cut, assembled and delivered by Belvedere Civic Club Board members and volunteers.

You can easily order one on the “Support” page of our website at https://www.belvederecivicclub.org/support. We are offering these nesting boxes at three donation tiers.

With the $40 Bronze donation level, you will receive:

· A nesting box kit (unassembled)

· All of the materials needed to construct it

· All pieces cut to size and holes predrilled for easy assembly

· Printed, clear instructions for assembly

· A pamphlet for proper care and maintenance of the nesting box

· Hand delivered at your convenience

· One year membership in the Belvedere Civic Club

With the $50 Silver donation level, you will receive:

· A completed nesting box

· Fully assembled and ready for installation

· A pamphlet for proper care and maintenance of the nesting box

· Hand delivered at your convenience

· One year membership in the Belvedere Civic Club

With the $100 Gold donation level, you will receive:

· A completed nesting box

· A full installation at a time and place of your choosing

· A pamphlet for proper care and maintenance of the nesting box

· One year membership in the Belvedere Civic Club

Please note, all bird boxes come unpainted as the chemicals in paint have the potential to harm the tiny baby Bluebirds. Because our nesting boxes are hand cut from large sheets of lumber, each box has its own natural variations. So, each box will look slightly different and be unique.

Thank you for your support of Bluebird populations and the Belvedere Civic Club!

Read on for some history of Bluebirds, the benefits you and your family will get from having a nesting box, and some things to expect with your new Bluebird nesting box.

HISTORY OF CONSERVATION

In the late 1800s several organizations in America began to identify and count the various species of birds in North America. The two most prominent organizations were the American Ornithological Union and the National Audubon Society. During the early 1890s a group of people in New York City imported and released several hundred European starlings in Central Park. Eventually, over the years this small colony of birds multiplied and spread throughout a large portion of North America. This species of non-native bird, because it was large and aggressive, became an invasive species.

As a result of the Christmas Bird Counts that are sponsored by the National Audubon Society, along with other bird counts, it became evident that the Eastern Bluebird and other native American birds were in serious decline. The population of eastern Bluebirds plummeted by 90% from the late 1800s until the mid-1950s. It was determined that one of the major causes for the decline in Eastern Bluebirds was its disadvantage in competing for nest cavities with the invasive European Starling.

When these facts were learned, many Bluebird societies were formed across the country. Through their effort to educate our citizens and to build and install suitable nest boxes, the eastern Bluebird population began to recover.

THE GOOD YOU WILL DO

You will be part of a conservation effort to restore the eastern Bluebird population in our community. In Georgia eastern Bluebirds may have as many as 3 clutches of baby birds in a single year. This provides the potential for a single nest box to fledge many baby birds during our spring and summer months.

Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity nesting bird species will use a nest box in the winter for protection against harsh weather. These nest boxes will provide shelter for the birds not only during the nesting season but also during the cold, windy, rainy season of winter helping to increase the winter survival rate for Bluebirds.

THE BENEFIT TO YOU

Bluebirds have one of the the most beautiful songs of the North American bird population, however it isn't too loud. You can enjoy the melody without constant noise.

Bluebirds are some of the most desired yard birds. They eat insects throughout the spring, summer, and fall including termites, mosquitos and insect larvae, helping to keep the population of undesirable insects around you lower.

That sweet, sweet feeling you get knowing you are helping in a conservation effort as well as supporting your local civic organization for the benefit of the community at large.

YOUR DONATION

Your donation will cover the cost of the materials for the box and help support and expand the community directed activities of the Belvedere Civic Club and its mission.

The Belvedere Civic Club keeps our neighbors informed about important developments that affect our community, keep everyone updated on any security issues and criminal activity, help maintain the Security Patrol, make all aware of fun local events, coordinate and support volunteer activities to better our neighborhood, host multiple annual community events, hold monthly meetings focused on bettering the quality of life for residents in Belvedere Park, and act as a liaison with, and an information warehouse for, all governmental officials, offices, and actions.