Cavity-nesters got 15 new houses Saturday thanks to efforts from a local Boy Scout troop.
In pursuit of his Eagle Scout badge, Boy Scout and Durango High School senior Nick Jernigan spent the day installing 15 handmade bird boxes at the Durango Nature Studies Center off U.S. Highway 550 South with the aid of friends, family and other members of Troop 501.
The wooden boxes, emblazoned with the Boy Scout fleur-de-lis symbol sporting a “501,” will accommodate any type of cavity-nester, or bird species that nests in a hole. Durango Nature Studies board biologist Aimee Way said the most common types sighted at the center are bluebirds and ash-throated flycatchers.
As an Eagle Scout, Jernigan, 17, has reached the highest rank in Boy Scouts completing the badge’s requirements through the birdhouse project. He began collecting wood donations back in spring from his troop and has since spent a total of 36 hours on the project, from planning with DNS to assembling the boxes.
Eagle Scout projects are designed to benefit the community in some capacity. Trail restoration is a common choice for many scouts, Jernigan said, but he opted to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, who installed a footbridge at DNS in years past.
“I grew up in Durango, I was born there, and I visited DNS ever year in school,” Jernigan said. “I’ve been here a lot. My mom used to volunteer and come out here for workshops.”
About 15 people, including Way, Jernigan’s father, Randy, and younger brother, Luke, followed Jernigan’s lead Saturday and installed 15 of the boxes around the property’s trail system. Each was erected on a pole driven into the ground and situated off-trail but close enough so visitors can watch the future inhabitants.
“We placed them in consideration of the ecology of the birds, but also so people could enjoy them,” Way said.
Cavity-nesters typically occupy a house for one nesting season, which lasts a couple weeks, before migrating, Way said. The biologist who has conducted bird research for 10 years, did not have an estimation of cavity-nester populations in the area but said large numbers are observed at DNS.
Bluebirds, ash-throated flycatchers, chickadees, swallows, wrens and nuthatches are just a few examples of secondary cavity-nesters, depending on primary cavity-nesters like woodpeckers to bore holes into trees for their living quarters.
“You need the trees to be soft enough for primary cavity-nesters to drill the hole,” Way said. “Availability can limit populations. Adding these increases the diversity of the birds. I’m excited to see what moves in.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
