The GSBAS is the proud recipient of $600 in Audubon Collaborative Funding. Continuing our “Audubon in the Parks” campaign, we have used the funds toward the creation of custom built raccoon baffles. The baffles will help protect our 22 Bluebird nest boxes at Connetquot River State Park Preserve (CRSPP) from the marauding raccoon that has been wreaking havoc for the past two years. Thankfully, the Bluebirds successfully fledged before the raccoon made his rounds but the Tree Swallows have not been so lucky.

Special thanks go out to Edith and Bob Wilson chairs of our Bluebird Nest Box Program, as well as Annette Brownell and her friend Rick Barns, A&N Reliable Welding for getting this project off the ground. The fabrication of the baffles was accomplished by Carl Bausinger, Jr., at The Sheet Metal Shop in Bay Shore.

Installation day, March 9, 2013, dawned clear and relatively warm. Under the guidance of Edith and Bob, the new baffles were installed in two hours by Rick Barns, Annette Brownell, Judy and Warren Davis, Bob Grover, and Helga and Larry Merryman. Bluebirds could be heard in the area. Perhaps they were some of the birds we had observed during the January 19, 2013 Breakfast and Birding.

If you would like to join the Bluebird Nest Box Program team and experience the joy of watching these magnificent birds throughout their nesting process, training is available to become a nest box monitor. Give the GSBAS a call at 631-563-7716.

Photos courtesy of Judy Davis and Helga Merryman – Click image to enlarge