Bluebird Trails
Sponsored Trails
The Northern Shenandoah Valley Audubon Society, an affiliate of the North American Bluebird Society, funds and maintains four bluebird trail projects in our service area.
The Shenandoah Audubon/Blandy Bluebird Trail, located at the University of Virginia’s State Arboretum and Blandy Experimental Farm near Boyce in Clarke County. The trail system includes 132 nest boxes. For more information contact Trail Manager,
Kaycee Lichliter kayceelichliter@hotmail.comThe Shenandoah Audubon/Shenandoah River State Park Bluebird Trail, located at Shenandoah River State Park near Bentonville in Warren County. The trail system includes 106 nest boxes.
For more information contact Trail Manager, Lee Bowen lbowen@ramseytruevalue.comThe Shenandoah Audubon/Belle Grove Plantation Bluebird Trail, located near Middletown in Frederick County. The trail system includes 6 nest boxes. For more information contact Trail Manager, Kaycee Lichliter kayceelichliter@hotmail.com
The Shenandoah Audubon Bluebird Trail at Chet Hobert Park, is a joint endeavor by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Audubon Society (Shenandoah Audubon) and Clarke County Parks & Recreation Chet Hobert Park, a 102-acre park located west of Berryville, Virginia. The Bluebird Trail consists of 12 nest boxes. For more information contact Trail Managers, Margaret Wester margaretwester@hotmail.com & Kaycee Lichliter kayceelichliter@hotmail.com
Partnering Organizations' Trails
The Northern Shenandoah Valley Audubon Society partners with the following organizations' bluebird tails in our region:
Shenandoah Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists Bluebird Trail located at Sky Meadows State Park consisting of 100 nest boxes. For more information contact the Trail Manager: Margaret Wester margaretwester@hotmail.com
Friends of Seven Bends State Park and Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River Bluebird Trail located at Seven Bends State Park consisting of 20 nest boxes. For more information contact the Trail Manager: Kaycee Lichliter kayceelichliter@hotmail.com
Wappacomo Bluebird Trail at Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, Virginia, consisting of 12 nest boxes. For more information contact the Trail Manager: Judi Booker svwc.mnt@gmail.com
Shenandoah Audubon/Blandy Bluebird Trail
The Shenandoah Audubon/Blandy Bluebird Trail is comprised of 132 nest boxes dispersed over 700 acres of gently rolling hills at the University of Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm. The trail provides critical nesting habitat for our native, cavity-nesting birds, offers educational and outreach opportunities, and collects research data which is submitted to The Virginia Bluebird Society, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Citizen Science NestWatch Program, and the University of Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm. The project provides opportunities for individuals and families to participate in hands-on, field-related Citizen Science. Seasonal workshops provide training for volunteers to become Trail Technicians and assist in monitoring bluebird nest boxes and other activities.
Interested individuals and families may try their hands at field-related citizen science by becoming Trail Technicians and monitoring bluebird boxes. The data collected by these volunteers help grow our understanding of cavity-nesting birds through submission to The Virginia Bluebird Society, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Citizen Science NestWatch Program, and Blandy Experimental Farm.
Birds of the Trails
The bluebird boxes provide habitat for several cavity-nesting species. Explore the tails in search of these birds:
Eastern Bluebird
Plumage: can visibly distinguish male from female
Feeding habits: drop foragers; wide variety insects, spiders, mollusks, roundworms
Habitat preference: open fields or lawn
Nest description: fine grass and/or pine needles, circular nest cup
Egg color: powder blue, rarely white
Clutch size: 3 – 5 eggs
Incubation period: 12 – 14 days
Nesting period: 16 – 22 days
Broods per season: 2, sometimes 3
Tree Swallow
Plumage: can visibly distinguish male from female
Feeding habits: feeds on the wing; mostly insects
Habitat preference: open fields near water, marsh, meadows, wooded swamps
Nest description: coarse grass/some pine needles, cup lined with white feathers
Egg color: white
Clutch size: 4 – 7 eggs
Incubation period: 14 – 15 days
Nesting period: 16 – 22 days
Broods per season: 1
House Wren
Plumage: cannot visibly distinguish male from female
Feeding habits: forages for variety of insects including beetles, grasshoppers, crickets
Habitat preference: farmland, forest edges, scrubby areas, backyards
Nest description: box filled with sticks; deep nest cup lined with fine plant fibers
Egg color: reddish tan; speckled with brown
Clutch size: 6 – 8 eggs
Incubation period: 12 – 16 days
Nesting period: 15 – 19 days
Broods per season: 1, sometimes 2
Photo by fishhawk
Carolina Chickadee
Plumage: cannot visibly distinguish male from female
Feeding habits: forages for plant and animal sources; seeds, insects, spiders
Habitat preference: forests, woodlots, yards with mature trees
Nest description: moss/fine plant material; cup lined with hair/fur
Egg color: whitish covered with brown speckles
Clutch size: 5 – 8
Incubation period: 11 – 14 days
Nesting period: 13 – 17 days
Brood per season: 1