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Corps of Engineers Column
 Bluebirds
back at Allatoona Lake, thanks to volunteers
By Chris Purvis, Park Ranger
One of the more successful U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers environmental programs at Allatoona Lake in the past 10
years has been the Eastern Bluebird Box Program, geared toward
reintroducing the Eastern Bluebird into the region. In the 1970s,
bluebird numbers had declined by as much as 70 percent in the
Southeastern U.S., mostly due to lack of habitat and competition
with house sparrows and starlings, both of which were introduced to
the U.S. and are not native to the region.
The Eastern Bluebird is medium-sized bird from the
thrush family. Easily identifiable, the bluebird is light blue with
light red plumage on its chest. The female of the genus is less
lightly colored than the male but is usually larger in size.
Approximately two-thirds of the bluebirds’ diet is insects with the
remainder being wild fruits. They prefer to nest in the woodlands in
the cavities of trees near open fields or meadows.
The importance of volunteers
 In
2001, Allatoona volunteer Jerry Pevey and two others made a proposal
to the Corps to build bluebird boxes and to consolidate other random
boxes around the lake into one monitored program. The result was the
Allatoona Eastern Bluebird Box Program. Since that time, thousands
of bluebirds have hatched in boxes spread throughout Corps
recreation areas on Allatoona. Many of these boxes are in full view
of campers and day-use visitors.
In 2011, the program was in desperate need of an
overhaul. Boxes over the years had deteriorated due to weather and
pesky flying squirrels, which often chewed entrance holes wider than
will be used by bluebirds.
Volunteer Pevey again set out to rebuild the program,
this time with new volunteer Gerald Purvis. The two men have put in
nearly 200 hours of service this year on the program. Almost 70
boxes have been rebuilt, repaired and painted and placed back in
areas conducive to bluebird nesting.
Early rough estimates so far this year show that at
least 180 bluebirds have hatched in Allatoona boxes this year. With
such great volunteers, it looks as though bluebirds are here to
stay.
If you’re interested in working with the Corps on a
volunteer program, please contact the Allatoona Project Office at
678-721-6700.
This column is provided by
the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Allatoona Lake project.
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