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Bluebirds & Flying Squirrels



HI . .

In a final pre-season check of my bluebird nestboxes at Hilton  Pond, 
I found that four of 17 boxes were occupied by  Southern Flying 
Squirrels (Glaucomys volans). At least two contained females with 
hairless young; I didn't probe deeply in the other two nests except 
to see that there were adults in them.

Hard-core bluebird lovers often remove flying squirrel nests from 
their nestboxes; some even evict other songbirds such as wrens, 
titmice, chickadees, swallows, and nuthatches. Let's all keep in mind 
that if flying squirrels and non-bluebird avian species are also 
occupying nestboxes, it must mean that cavities are scarce in a 
particular habitat.

By all means, DON'T evict other native species to the benefit of 
bluebirds, even though flying squirrels have been known to eat bird 
eggs and nestlings. All these cavity nesters are in potential trouble 
because of habitat loss, and all have a role to play in the scheme of 
things.

Let's do what we can to help all of them by planting more trees, 
protecting neighborhood habitats from destruction, and putting up 
more nestboxes.


Best wishes,

BILL
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BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road
York, South Carolina 29745
USA

e-mail: <hilton@hiltonpond.org>

Voice: (803) 684-5852

eFax: (503) 218-0845



Hilton Pond Website:  <http://www.hiltonpond.org>

Operation RubyThroat Website:  <http://www.rubythroat.org>


"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to 
watch the sunset."

						BHjr.

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