When: May 9 at 1:30PM
Where: Juanita Pohl Center, 8513 SW Tualatin Rd., Tualatin, OR 97062
Getting to Know Western Bluebirds
Western Bluebirds are a native avian species in Oregon that is now listed as a “sensitive species.” Since the 1970s Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project volunteers have been working to support the bluebird population. Join us for an overview of the Western Bluebird’s lifecycle and nesting habitats and learn how PBRP is supporting these enchanting blue birds.
When: March 11, 2025 at 1PM – 4PM
Where: Canby Public Library, 220 NE 2nd Ave, Canby 97013
Our group is presenting at the monthly meeting of the Canby Garden Club, it is free and open to the public.
Join us for a wonderful “Bluebird” program from local guide Michelle Harrington. Michelle is a retired elementary reading specialist and a team leader and board member for the Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project.
“In Clackamas County we have a total of 90 Bluebird boxes that we monitor. I supervise five volunteers and each volunteer has about 15 boxes that they check,” Michelle said. “Educating the public about Bluebirds is very important to me.”
We will have information about setting up your own Bluebird house for spring and encouraging these beautiful winged creatures to nest near you.
When: February 22, 2025, 9:30AM – Noon
Where: Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700 SW Sweek Dr, Tualatin, OR 97062
You’ll learn about the Western Bluebird and why this sensitive species needs our help. You’ll also learn about our nest box monitoring program and what’s involved in volunteering to monitor nest boxes. You’ll be able to meet volunteer monitors, ask question, and likely hear some bluebird stories from the field.
We monitor nest box routes in the countryside around the suburbs south of Portland, such as Sherwood, Newberg, Dundee, Scholls, Laurel, Farmington, Wilsonville, Oregon City, Beavercreek, and Canby. Monitor responsibilities include field work and data collection during the April-August nesting season.
It’s mid-winter, but bird nesting season is nearer than you think! Nesting season is the special season for Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project (PBRP). PBRP is a non-profit conservation organization of over 50 citizen scientist volunteers dedicated to the recovery, restoration, and enhancement of the Western Bluebird. PBRP relies on volunteers to monitor the nesting activities in our bird boxes throughout the suburban areas of the northern Willamette Valley near Newberg, Dundee, Scholls, Farmington, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Oregon City and Canby.
PBRP provides these boxes because of the loss of nesting sites for these cavity nesters. Loss of nest sites comes from loss of naturally occurring cavities, reduction of native habitat (food supply) and the introduction of competition for sites from non-native (invasive) house sparrows. The Western Bluebird is listed as a “sensitive species” in Oregon by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Monitors are assigned to a route of multiple boxes, which they visit on a weekly basis from early April till the end of August. Bluebird pairs will often have two clutches a year! PBRP provides an experienced leader who conducts field training and answers questions throughout the season. Monitors are citizen scientists who record information on the number of nests, eggs and hatchlings. Data is consolidated and shared with several scientific organizations.
Every year, some of the volunteers retire or relocate, leaving a few routes without monitors. PBRP holds an annual event to refresh current monitors and recruit needed new volunteers.
Several studies published in recent years found that seeing and hearing birds improved people’s mental well-being by up to eight hours. Couple this with the opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life, and you have a win-win situation.
So come and check us out! This year we will host a meeting for anyone interested in volunteering or just learning more about Bluebirds. This meeting will inform you about bluebirds, bluebird boxes and how we monitor them. This Spring meeting will be on Saturday, February 22, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Heritage Center in Tualatin. There will be time after the presentation to visit and ask questions. Parking is free, and so is the meeting.
Join us on Saturday, February 22, 2025, RSVP with this form:
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
9:30 – 11:30 am
Tualatin Heritage Center
8700 SW Sweek Dr., Tualatin
When: Saturday, March 2, 2024, from 9:30 am-noon
Where: Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700 SW Sweek Dr, Tualatin, OR 97062
Are you interested in learning more about Western Bluebirds? Come to our Spring Volunteer Workshop! We’ll introduce you to the Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project and our efforts to help the Western Bluebirds in the Willamette Valley. You’ll learn about our nest box monitoring program and what’s involved in volunteering to monitor nest boxes. You’ll be able to meet volunteer monitors, ask questions, and likely hear some bluebird stories from the field.
We monitor nest box routes in the countryside around the suburbs south of Portland, such as Sherwood, Newberg, Dundee, Scholls, Laurel, Farmington, Wilsonville, Oregon City, Beavercreek, and Canby. Monitor responsibilities include field work and data collection during the April-August nesting season.
Join us on Saturday, March 2, 2024!!
You may be seeing bluebirds choosing their mates and checking out nest boxes. Or maybe you’re seeing robins courting or hearing a Northern Flicker drumming on your rain gutter. You may be tempted to “help” our feathered friends by putting out nesting material for them to use in building their nests. However well-intentioned, do not offer dryer lint, yarn, strings, or human hair as nesting material for birds. Why not, you ask?
Dryer lint dissolves and loses its shape in rain-something we have in abundance here! The resulting openings in the nest allow heat to escape, and chicks are at risk for hypothermia. And what about string and yarn?
Nestlings move around a lot in a nest, re-positioning themselves for being fed and for snuggling for warmth. A loose strand that is woven into the nest on one end doesn’t require much length to get wrapped around a baby bird’s toothpick-thin leg and can trap the chick to the nest, resulting in injury and even death. For tips on safe nesting material, check out a free handout from our friends at Backyard Bird Shop .
[“Remedies or Acts of Kindness that Backfire” used by permission from Backyard Bird Shop]
Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:00 am-noon
Champoeg State Heritage Area
Are you interested in monitoring bluebird nest boxes? Come to our Spring Volunteer Workshop to learn how you can become a Nest Box Monitor. You’ll learn about our organization and meet returning volunteers.
We monitor nest box routes in the countryside around the suburbs south of Portland, such as Sherwood, Newberg, Dundee, Scholls, Laurel, Farmington, Wilsonville, Oregon City, Beavercreek, and Canby. Monitor responsibilities include field work and data collection during the April-August nesting season.
Join our nest box monitoring team!
By Susan Mates
In February of 2011, I was deciding whether I wanted to be a bluebird monitor. I was looking for a citizen scientist project that would get me out-of-doors and allow me to feel that I was doing something to help birds survive better. I expected to have a weekly commitment that would require keen observation, good record keeping, and, secretly, an excuse to wander around in pretty places.
All of those things happened, but what I didn’t expect was that:
Each time you open a nest box, it is like a treasure hunt. You will never know what to expect. You will catch your breath when there is the first egg in a beautifully designed nest, and laugh when you see a brand new baby chick with its clump of fuzzy down on its head. You might even startle a miffed Douglas tree squirrel that decided to occupy a box. Eight years in, there is a surprise every time.
You will be rewarded by bluebirds fluttering in to greet you at their boxes. You will watch their courtship, take pleasure in witnessing how they feed their hungry brood, and learn the personalities of some of them.
You will learn more than you guessed about the other birds in the area, their songs and their nests, where their favorite places are, and how they pay attention to each other.
You will be humbled by the property owners, who so generously allow us to traipse through their beautiful land, and some of them will become true and dear friends.
You will be struck by spotting close up, a turkey vulture airing its enormous wings, or seeing a line of pigs running pell mell toward a food bucket, or catch the eyes of a mother coyote hunting across a field in the mist.
Our project helps to supply nest boxes that replace habitat lost to human intervention, and we hope the boxes provide a boost for their survival. You will be amazed by the determination and bravery of the parents defending their brood. There are vulnerabilities and dangers for them at each stage, and their struggles and triumphs become more personal for us through this work.
You are, at times, going to be sticky with sweat, drenched with rain, covered by mud, or spend an hour picking weed seeds from your socks. And yes, sometimes you are surely going to encounter death, because you are, after all a witness to the whole cycle of life, and not all of the birds are going to survive.
When you see a line of fledglings sitting on a fence, waiting for a meal, you will feel hopeful that nature can heal, and that maybe you have been a tiny part of that. And I can guarantee that you will also, each time, find deep joy and awe.
This essay by Susan Mates was published in the PBRP Newsletter, Spring 2020.
When: Saturday, March 5, 2022 10 am – 11:30 am
Are you interested in monitoring bluebird nest boxes? Attend our Spring Volunteer Workshop to learn about PBRP and what monitoring is all about.
We monitor nest box routes mainly in Clackamas, Washington, and Yamhill Counties. Monitor responsibilities include field work, data collection, and reporting during the April-August nesting season. Click here for more information about monitoring.
CURRENT OPENINGS: We have available routes in the Oregon City area, on Parrett Mtn Road, and in Washington County west of Sherwood.
All our volunteer positions are now filled.
When: Saturday, February 29, 2020 from 9:30am-noon
Where: Champoeg State Heritage Area
[PBRP will cover parking fees]
Are you interested in monitoring bluebird nest boxes? Come to our Spring Volunteer Workshop to learn how you can become a Nest Box Monitor. You’ll learn about our organization and meet returning volunteers.
We monitor nest box routes in the countryside around the suburbs south of Portland, such as Sherwood, Newberg, Dundee, Scholls, Laurel, Farmington, Wilsonville, Oregon City, Beavercreek, and Canby. Monitor responsibilities include field work and data collection during the April-August nesting season.