A project for the summer was to add to the BLUEBIRD HOUSES at TAProots Vineyard. Three sets of two bluebird houses each have been put up over the last 15 years. The first two were placed along the pear and apple orchard shortly after its planting. The second two were placed at the south side of the blueberry patch, overlooking the rows of bushes. The third two were placed over the septic field after the building of the barn. When finally planted, this box will look over a large plot of Riesling grapes. These six boxes have been consistently occupied by multiple broods of bluebirds with frequent occupation of the second house by tree swallows. The obvious result of these houses is an abundance of bluebirds flocking around the vineyard this autumn, sitting on trellis posts and especially the top of the flagpole. The goal for the new houses was to expand the nesting area to the large pasture west of the Riesling plot. Our two grandsons, aged 7 and 10 years, were each provided with a bluebird house kit on a rainy day, and they hammered and drilled to construct a standard bluebird house with correct size of entry hole, depth for nesting materials, roof to protect from rain, and the opportunity to open out the floor for February clean out of old nests. Each builder then decorated the outside to their liking with magic markers. The boxes were then attached to a metal post which could fit into a base hammered into the ground. They were placed 25 feet apart at the northern edge of a large meadow, facing southeast, to resist the strong northwest winds of winter and to catch the morning warmth of the sun rising from the east. They may be occupied as early as this winter, as groups of bluebirds are known to cloister together in birdhouses in the depth of the cold and dark winter. The grandsons will be kept abreast of any nesting success.
TAProots
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