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Blase Keegel has served as a volunteer for the Bluebird Nest Box Program at Turtle Point for 20 years. Nicknamed “Mr. Bluebird Jr.,” Blase enjoys working alongside the tight-knit bluebird monitoring team.
When asked how his involvement in the program began, Blase said, “Someone started telling me about bluebirds and then drafted and coached me into [the nesting program]. I worked with the team for a year, and then it was turned over to me.”
The fascinating characteristics of the bluebird piqued Blase’s interest. A few unique qualities about bluebirds includes that they are family-oriented, with the male and female taking turns finding food and feeding hatchlings. Unlike many other birds, bluebirds primarily eat insects and berries and won’t eat birdseed.
Bluebirds are selective about where they nest; they are a “nesting cavity bird” and prefer to nest in boxes, but will also nest in natural cavities of trees, like woodpecker holes. The removal of old nests helps ensure that potential parasites and diseases are not transferred from the old nest to the new one. This is where the bluebird monitoring team lends an important helping hand.
On early Wednesday mornings, you might see the team looking through the bluebird boxes with a clipboard in hand. The team monitors the 55 bluebird nesting boxes at Turtle Point for eggs and chicks and notes these changes each week from early April to the end of July. Once the bluebird chicks have moved out the nest, the team removes the nest to make room for the next nest.
The core group of the team includes Carmen Cawart, Dot Brookshire, Barbara Sanders, Elaine Verma and Dawn Hawley. The group expressed that it’s their love of nature that is at the heart of their passion for this program.
The team would love to grow and welcome anyone who would be dedicated and interested in volunteering for the next bluebird season, once a week from early April to the end of July. In addition to Blase’s team at Turtle Point, there are volunteers on the grounds of all five Kiawah golf courses, Night Heron Park and The Sanctuary.
To learn more about the Bluebird Nest Box Program or to volunteer, email our wildlife biologist, Aaron Given, at agiven@kiawahisland.org.
