Boxes Installed Along Trail
Rockbridge Conservation’s Trails Committee has taken flight with a new initiative to support native bird populations along the Sunnyside Trail, which runs between Ross Road and the Kendal at Lexington campus.
With the support of the Virginia Bluebird Society (VBS), the committee recently installed five nest boxes designed to provide safe, species-appropriate nesting spaces for cavity-nesting birds like Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and Carolina Chickadees.
The Rockbridge Conservation Trails Committee applied for and received an in-kind grant from VBS in March through its New & Refurbished Trails Grant program. The grant provided essential components for five nest box installations, including wooden nest boxes designed for monitoring; predator guards to protect against snakes, raccoons, and larger birds; and laminated Virginia Bluebird Society identification tags.
These materials, valued at approximately $350 in total, were installed by Trails Committee volunteers, who contributed U-posts and minor hardware to mount the nests and make box modifications.
The effort is already showing signs of success.
“When we returned a few days later to finish some minor work, we discovered that three of the five boxes already contained partially built nests — one from a chickadee, one from a bluebird or tree swallow, and one not far enough along to identify,” said a Trails Committee member. “It’s a promising start!”
In keeping with Virginia Bluebird Society requirements, the nest boxes will be monitored and maintained by the committee. Regular checks during the breeding season will track the progress of the nesting birds, and all findings will be reported annually to VBS. In addition, monitoring data will be uploaded to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology NestWatch platform, contributing to a national database for avian research and conservation.
The Sunnyside Trail is part of the Sunnyside Preserve, a parcel owned and stewarded by Rockbridge Conservation.
For more information or to get involved with the Trails Committee, visit rockbridgeconservation. org.
