With the breeding season chugging along, many of the volunteers have discussed adding cameras to the boxes. Nest cams are a great tool to watch the brood and parents in the nestbox. We still need to do research on the type and cost of this technology, but it sound very intriguing. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology had a camera video of an Eastern Bluebird Nest box in Greenville, TX. The video is of mother Bluebird turning her eggs, dated Apr 15, 2011. According to the site, “in order to make sure that the embryos develop correctly, the female will rotate the eggs every few hours. This prevents any of the membranes within the egg, and around the embryo, from sticking.”
Here is the video:
It warms my heart to see such attentiveness, and makes me want to get some nest cams of our own. We will most likely finish out this breeding season and see which boxes are performing the best. If all goes well, and with a little financing, we may have a camera or two for 2014.