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Each spring, William O'Brien State Park monitors over 70 blue bird houses. In the summer of 2022 alone, volunteers recorded over 80 fledged blue birds.
Each spring, William O'Brien State Park monitors over 70 blue bird houses. In the summer of 2022 alone, volunteers recorded over 80 fledged blue birds.
Each spring, William O’Brien State Park monitors over 70 blue bird houses. In the summer of 2022 alone, volunteers walked trails and recorded over 80 fledged blue birds and 200 fledged tree swallows. Volunteers monitor the boxes once a week, which takes approximately two to three hours, depending on the trail. Some of the park’s volunteers team up with others to walk the trail, sharing the monitoring responsibilities.
In 2019, Steve Dibb and his wife moved to Stillwater from the south metro. As a retired Biology teacher and avid bird watcher, Dibb was looking for ways to participate in a local bird program. Already a volunteer with the Carnelian-Marine Watershed District (CMWSD) and a regular visitor at William O’Brien State Park, “I noticed the park had a lot of bird boxes along the trails, so I reached out to the Park Naturalist at the time and started monitoring boxes with a group of people,” he said.
“There group is made up of people from all walks of life, from bird enthusiasts to beginners…Some of the volunteers have been doing this for more than a decade and some had never done anything like this before joining.”
Currently, the group has core group of 11 volunteers. With miles of trails to trek and hundreds of new broods of birds in the park, “We are hoping to get more people out there monitoring boxes and create a list of people that are interested in subbing, this would help our regular volunteers take a vacation.” Dibb said.
“The boxes need to monitored weekly, especially once the birds are fledging and leaving the nest. Some trails are quicker than others, it just depends on what are able to do…People like being out there. It’s a walk, not a march through the park and you get to learn about the natural life cycle of bluebirds, their habitat, how to check and identify nest boxes, bird species, predators and so much more,” he said.
“Part of what I have learned, or a challenge that I’ve found is how specific the habitat for bluebird is. They are insect feeders, so their boxes need to be located along the edge prairies and open spaces, tall grass attracts insects which allows them to thrive. Bluebirds are very susceptible to disturbance. You don’t want their boxes next to things that attract predatory birds or mice.”
According to Dibb, back in 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, bluebirds would nest in wooden fence posts that were hollowed out by woodpeckers. As things changed over the years and the use of synthetic insecticides like dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), the number of bluebird numbers severely declined.
“It has been a long effort to bring population back. If not for that effort, there would probably be a handful of broods at William O’Brien, compared to the hundreds of broods the park has now,” he said.
“We are really excited to have Elizabeth Nelson as the new Park Naturalist. It’s an opportunity to rebuild and provide educational opportunities to the public. There is a lot of education that needs to take place…every time I’m out on a trail and see people walking by, I try to take a moment to talk with, teach them something about birds and let them look in the boxes,” said Dibb.
“People will take care of things if they find value in things,” he said. “If we educate and get people engaged, they will find value. William O’Brien State Park is an incredible treasure.”
Other volunteer
opportunities
If birding isn’t for you, there are plenty of other ways to volunteer at the park. William O’Brien is currently looking for volunteers to help in both natural resources and education. Opportunities range from giving or assisting with guided hikes, helping with school groups, netting for macroinvertebrates or talking to visitors at one of the park’s informational booths.
“We can always use help with our educational programs like plants and pollinators. Or, if you like creepy, crawly things, we have water programs,” said park naturalist Elizabeth Nelson.
“I am also very open to anyone who has an interest or a passion they want to share. We can work together to create a class or program,” she said.
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