More than a Mountain Bike Trail- The Balm Boyette Bluebird Trail

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The Balm Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve, located in Wimauma, is  one of the premiere mountain biking destinations in the State of Florida (don’t laugh, these trails are seriously intense). However, the preserve’s significance extends well beyond the realm of extreme sports. It is also a vital habitat that supports a diversity of wildlife, such as the eastern bluebird - a tiny bird that just needs a small hole to call home. The Tampa Audubon Society is making sure they have one. 

For many years, the Tampa Audubon Society’s (TAS) Sandy Reed has monitored and maintained a series of bluebird nesting boxes throughout the Balm Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve. Known as the “Bluebird Trail,” the boxes provide nesting cavities for the small birds, whose populations have been considerably impacted by loss of habitat and competition from invasive English house sparrows. Fortunately, bluebirds readily adapt to specifically designed bird boxes, and efforts from naturalists across the country to construct and monitor these artificial nesting cavities over the last 30 years are helping the species recover.

After years of dedicated devotion to the Bluebird Trail, Sandy is passing the trail monitor torch to SWAMP Mountain Bike Club volunteer Steven Rickert. In preparation for the upcoming nesting season in March, Steven and a team of TAS volunteers recently set out to refurbish or relocate all 12 boxes on the trail. He will monitor the boxes weekly by mountain bike throughout the nesting season, tracking the number of eggs and hatchlings in each box. His findings will be recorded by the Tampa Audubon Society and used to monitor the health of the bluebird population in the area. 

The next time you’re out enjoying the thrilling mountain bike trails at Balm Boyette, remember the preserve is also home to another trail system and a thriving ecosystem full of biodiversity.


Note- Bluebird boxes are protected. Please admire them from a distance and do not disturb the nesting birds. 

 Click here to watch a video of the volunteers at work

              





Blue bird on a bird house

Male bluebird standing on top of nesting box
Photo credit: John Miller


baby birds in bird nest
Baby bluebirds inside nest
Photo credit: Mary Miller

baby bird breaking out of blue egg inside nest
Baby bluebird breaking out of shell
Photo credit: Mary Miller


Baby birds inside nest
Baby bluebirds inside nest
Photo credit: Mary Miller








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