The Florida Bluebird Society is a registered IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
The Florida Bluebird Society is a registered Florida not-for-profit organization
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN FLORIDA 800-435-7325.
REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
REGISTRATION NUMBER IS CH29239.

This gallery of photographs depicts the various educational activities of Florida Bluebird Society members as they endeavor to promote the conservation and protection of bluebirds in the Sunshine State. These photos will be updated periodically and members are encouraged to submit photographs of their efforts to help others learn more about attracting and caring for bluebirds. (It will not be possible to post all photos, but all photos will be given careful consideration.) Please click here to see how to submit your photos.

From Left to Right: Nell Pennewill, FBS Member - Barbie Arms, FBS Corresponding Secretary - Ce Worley, FBS Board Member - Faith Jones, FBS Treasurer - Katie Sieving, FBS Technical Adviser - Carolyn McKinney, FBS County Coordinator - Sandy Reed, FBS Member - Bill Pennewill, FBS President

Some members of Boy Scouts Troop 650, which meet at Pinewood Presbyterian Church in Middleburg, FL, listen as Bill Pennewill, President of the Florida Bluebird Society, explains the design of a nest box and predator guard following a presentation during a regular monthly meeting.

This website is sponsored by:
The Penney Birders
Penney Retirement Community
Penney Farms, Florida
www.penneyretirementcommunity.org

A group of participants attending the Watermelon Pond Spring Workshop on Incorporating Wildlife-Friendly Practices into Multi-Use Land Management sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission listen to Florida Bluebird Society President Bill Pennewill’s informative talk on creating and maintaining a bluebird trail. Bill then demonstrated the placement of a bluebird nest box on a free-standing pole with a predator guard in accordance with Florida Bluebird Society guidelines.

Barbie Arms, Corresponding Secretary for the Florida Bluebird Society, demonstrates that the conservation and protection of bluebirds can begin right in your own neighborhood.

On the left, Barbie shows how a trellis turned a homemade nest box into a death trap. A predator climbed the pole, chewed open the entrance and killed the nestlings inside the box. Note the other decorative birdhouse and that the bluebird box is placed on a wooden pole with no predator guard. Barbie suggested the opening of the boxes be plugged if they are kept up for decorative purposes.

On the right, Barbie points to another box mounted on a wooden pole only a few yards away from the nest box in the top photo. This box is located near a bird bath, which serves as a “launching pad” for any cat or “critter.” The nest box has a ledge, which serves as a landing pad where the predator can sit and get at the helpless nestlings inside.

Barbie gave the neighbor a copy of the Florida Bluebird Society’s nest box plans and volunteered to assist the neighbor in placing and mounting the new boxes properly. This is an example of how neighbor-to-neighbor assistance will prove beneficial to bluebirds and demonstrates the person-to-person educational aspect of the Florida Bluebird Society.

Middleburg, FL, Elementary students enthusiastically respond to a question by Florida Bluebird Society President Bill Pennewill, who presented 10 bluebird programs to eighteen classes during the school’s day-long Annual Arts Festival. Students in the classes, which ranged from kindergarten through the sixth grade, were very attentive during the presentations, and their responses reflected their interested in learning more about bluebirds.

Normally the nestlings would chatter loudly and raise their wide open beaks in anticipation of being fed. This time the nestlings didn’t utter a sound and kept their heads buried in the nest. Using her beak, the female tried to lift the head of one nestling, then another and finally the third one. She looked around, apparently puzzled, then left.

Although the nest box was protected by a free-swinging predator guard made of stove pipe and hardware cloth the rat snake was able to get in. Last season I found evidence a snake had gotten into another nest box. So this past fall, using plans downloaded from the Internet, I made an experimental snake guard using netting. I had not used it because I believed the predator guards would deter most critters. We decided this was the time to install the snake guard made of netting. We had to carefully remove the nest box from the pole without damaging the nest cam or wire leading from the camera inside the box to the computer inside a nearby residence, while at the same time trying not to disturb the nestlings any more than necessary.

Once that task was completed we went inside to confirm the nest cam was still operational, and to observe. There was a great sigh of relief when we again heard the chatter of the nestlings and saw the three wide open beaks when they heard the parent approaching with food.

The Penney Birders’ nest cam records the tragedy of a rat snake beginning to devour a nestling. It was a vivid reminder that the real world of nature is a lot different than the fuzzy falsehoods perpetuated in the make-believe “Walt Disney World.” On Wednesday, June 02, 2010, at about 6:15 a.m., startled observers watched as the female bluebird stuck its head inside the nest box and pecked at the snake, which was unfazed by the attack. Fortunately the snake was removed before it could devour the remaining three nestlings in the box.

Following the snake’s attack the surviving nestlings were still so stressed they pressed themselves flat into the nest and didn’t move a muscle, even when the female entered the box with food.

Bill Pennewill, founding president of the Florida Bluebird Society, speaks at a meeting of the West Central Florida Uplands Working Group at the Withlacoochee Training Center in Brooksville and points out features of the bluebird nest box recommended by the Society.

Individuals attending the Florida Audubon Society’s 2010 State Assembly had the opportunity to learn about the Florida Bluebird Society through an attractive table display and banner created by Carolyn McKinney.

Carolyn McKinney talks with one of the many people attending the Audubon Assembly who stopped by the display to learn more about FBS efforts to conserve and protect bluebirds in the Sunshine State.