The Oakland County Parks Nest Box Monitoring Program uses the efforts of dedicated NestWatchers to monitor 175 nest boxes at seven parks. Every year, approximately 45 observers dedicate hundreds of hours monitoring boxes at Addison Oaks, Groveland Oaks, Highland Oaks, Independence Oaks, Lyon Oaks, Orion Oaks and Waterford Oaks county parks.

Nest boxes are built to target four native species – Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, House Wrens and Black-Capped Chickadees.

According to studies from Cornell Nest Watch, one in four breeding birds has been lost since 1970. The North American Bluebird Society was founded to help restore the declining population of Bluebird species. This decline was largely due to habitat loss of dead and decaying trees that provide cavities for nesting.

Oakland County Parks used data collected by observers and entered it into the Cornell Nest Watch website. Their efforts in 2022 revealed the following activity at its 175 nest boxes at seven parks:

• 210 nesting attempts
• 695 eggs laid in nest boxes
• 523 young hatched
• 505 fledglings left nest box

For more information, contact Nest Box Coordinator Theresa Celusta at celustat@oakgov.com.