Conservation Projects

In 2007 the East Quabbin Bird Club launched a bird box program focused on building, placing and monitoring nest boxes in appropriate landscapes throughout our area. Recent history has shown two major conservation success stories due to nest box programs that helped bolster numbers of declining Eastern Bluebirds and Wood Ducks. These species still need assistance as suitable natural cavities can be tough to come by, and in the meantime a third species, the American Kestrel, has begun experiencing a sharp population decline due in part to a lack of suitable breeding habitat. For anyone interested in constructing bird boxes, the East Quabbin Bird may be able to supply some rough cut lumber to get you started. Plans and other information can be found by following this link to Cornell’s website . Build as many as you’d like – we can use them all. Roughly, for every Wood Duck box built it would be great to get four Kestrel boxes and ten Bluebird boxes. Once built we’ll place the boxes on East Quabbin Land Trust properties and with interested private landowners who have suitable habitat. Contact dryoptera@yahoo.com with any questions, requests for lumber, or ideas where additional lumber may be secured through donation.

Wheeler's Pastures is one of the most important early successional habitats in the East Quabbin area. Unforunatley, these pastures have been reverting back to white pine forest, and in the process, a key habitat for Pririe Warbler, Field Sparrow and Eastern Towhee has been seriously declining. However, with the support of the private landowner, the East Quabbin has begun an important restoration project at the site. Beginning in 2007 EQBC volunteers have been cutting the invading white pine, reopening these dry pastures to a matrix of grassland and shrubland. Already target birds have begun to return, including Eastern Towhee and the first breeding record of Field Sparrow upon the work footprint. Cattle have also returned to these pastures, which will help maintain this habitat over the longrun. More work is needed: to help out watch the "Events" section of the homepage or drop a line to info@eastquabbinbirdclub.com.