Subject contains "The Haliburton Highlands Field Naturalists (HHFN) requested recommendations<br />
on constructing an eastern bluebird nesting and monitoring trail along Gelert Road from<br />
Haliburton to Minden Hills, Ontario. Gelert Road has 39 potential site locations that<br />
would be ideal to place nesting boxes on, located in grassland, farmland and wellmaintained<br />
private yards. The sites are placed along private land and once approved,<br />
would be accessible to volunteers monitoring the nesting boxes. The boxes should be<br />
easy and economical to build and mount. They should have a 3.81cm entrance hole<br />
with grooves on the outside of the box to allow the fledglings to leave the nest. The<br />
boxes should be placed at least 92 m apart, facing southeast in open areas with little<br />
ground cover. They should be numbered and monitored approximately every 4-5 days<br />
during egg laying, incubating and nesting periods. Monitoring should be completed from<br />
a distance once the fledglings are 12-13 days old in order to prevent them from leaving<br />
the nest prematurely. Detailed monitoring records should be kept and filed through<br />
HHFN. To increase feasibility of this trail, high school students, community members<br />
and HHFN members can come together to speak with landowners, build, place and<br />
monitor nesting boxes."