By Don Bissonnette

  In 2022, The Eastern Bluebirds in Essex County had a good year. I collected statistics from 24 trails, which had a total of 167 birdhouses. We counted a total of 24 successful pairs of Bluebirds, which produced a total of 119 fledglings. 

   This is a significant increase, compared to the previous years numbers. In 2021, we only counted 16 successful pairs of Bluebirds, which produced only 69 fledgling Bluebirds.

INSPECTION  TIME . . . Any time in February or early March is a good time to inspect, repair, repaint or re-locate your birdhouses. If any of the Pine Straw beds are dirty or wet, replace them with new ones.  Also, please remember to inspect your predator guards. It is best to have your birdhouses ready, sooner than later.  In the past few years, some of our earliest Tree Swallows arrived in our County between March 10th and the 17th.  Also, some pairs of Bluebirds start building their nests in mid-March.

VAN  ERT  LIVE  TRAPS . . . Once again, I am selling Van Ert live traps at cost. [$18.50 + $2.41(H.S.T.) = Total $20.91] Cash only.  Please contact me, if you need to buy one. {Don Bissonnette … (519) 738-3279.}

The Ontario  Eastern  Bluebird  Society​ has scheduled their Annual  General  Meeting​ on Saturday, March 18th. This is their first face-to-face A.G.M. since 2019.  This meeting will be held at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. Registration starts at 8:30 am. The meeting starts at 9:00 am. For more details, visit the OEBS web-site.     Thanks to every-one who sent me their 2022 Bluebird and Tree Swallow nesting statistics.

Best Wishes for the 2023 Nesting Season!