Dave Scott Bird Trail

Skidaway Audubon has supported the Dave Scott Bluebird Trail on our golf courses since 1997. It's now one of the largest monitored trails in the southeast with 240 bluebird boxes alongside each golf course at The Landings and throughout the island and community. Volunteer monitors tend to the boxes, track bluebird activity, and count fledged birds.

"Bluebird houses" are suitable for various cavity-nesting birds, including Carolina Chickadees and Brown-headed Nuthatches. These songbirds nest in the bird houses during spring and summer. The chickadees and nuthatches nest once a year, while Eastern Bluebirds nest two to three times annually.  Bluebirds use pine straw and decorations like grass and feathers to build their nests. Chickadees start with green moss, followed by leaves or bark, and finish with a soft fluff. Nuthatches use pine cone seedlings, bark, or wood pieces, resulting in a messy nest.

To support the chickadees and nuthatches, the metal portal (entry hole plate) can be changed to a smaller size, using a nuthatch portal for both species. After nesting, the box should be cleaned out and the portal changed to facilitate bluebird nesting. Tufted Titmice may occasionally nest in the bird houses as well.

Birdhouses on the Dave Scott Bluebird Trail are placed on posts with baffles to keep them off trees and protect them from predators like snakes, raccoons, and squirrels.  Want to know how the David Scott Bluebird Trail got started?  Learn Here.