Three people standing between two bluebird nestboxes. The boxes are on five foot posts with predator guards.
All 220 nestboxes are up! The photo features #219 and #220.
So many people have been involved -- grateful to them all! (esp. RCY!)
Excited to embark on many scientific adventures with the boxes.
Five people standing near an educational sign about edible forests in the city. They are holding nestboxes and nestbox predator guards. There is a nestbox installed behind them in the background. There is snow on the ground.
Three of five weekends of nestbox installations down! 58% of 220 nestboxes in.
One stop today was MSU's Detroit Partnership for Food, Learning and Innovation. Very excited to be working with MSU's first urban ag center!
Three people kneeling on the snow in front of an orchard. They are holding binoculars. They are dress in snow gear.
It was also necessary to stop and look through a flock of sparrows -- I've found my people
Graduate student sledding down a hill on a farm. The sled includes predator guards. A volunteer is walking down the hill behind her.
Some sledding was necessary to get back down the hill. Yes, we may be recruiting soon!
Three people are installing bluebird nestboxes on two metal posts. They also have predator guards on them. The snow is deep. The nestboxes are on a farm.
We've now installed over a third of the 220 nestboxes for our new experiment!
It's been cold with a ton of snow, but it's still been a fun time!
Three people installing bluebird nestboxes in a line parallel to a fence row. The nestboxes are on a farm. Snow is on the ground.
First 30 are in, 190 to go!
Two people installing bluebird nestboxes in an open agricultural field. Snow is on the ground.
My lab is installing 220 nestboxes on 30 farms across mid-Michigan! Nestbox-using birds like bluebirds can eat a lot of insects -- thousands of caterpillars for one brood. We're interested in how much this can benefit organic farmers trying to use natural means to control pest insects
Deciduous forest in Michigan. Snow is on the ground. There are wild turkeys high up in the trees roosting.
We didn't see too many species, but there were a handful of wild turkeys roosting maybe 50 feet up in the trees -- I did not know they roosted so high! (They are the little dots in the trees in this photo)
Group of 18 people dressed in winter attire preparing for birding. They are holding binoculars. It is snowy. There is a hedge and grassland in the background.
MSU EEB Program monthly birding
Pretty good turnout of about 20 people, even in 10 degree weather!
Extra time on exams has become the default accommodation in higher ed—but evidence suggests it often doesn’t help anyone: not students “gaming the system,” and more concerningly, often not students with disabilities either.
Read our opinion piece here: url-shortener.me/8R70
Excited to see continued coverage of our recent article on how American kestrels can improve food safety and reduce crop damage on cherry farms: insideclimatenews.org/news/2201202...
Group of 18 people standing in front of a wooded riverfront holding binoculars. They are dressed warmly and standing on snow.
MSU EEB birding group (eeBirding) January outing.
Surprisingly high turnout for the holiday and temps! Best findings were 4 Northern Pintail.
Really cool press release featuring our recent paper, describing the benefits of predators to agricultural production: www.vox.com/climate/4711...
A young American kestrel, nearing the age of fledging. He is in the process of being banded and being held by the bander.
This is good news because America's smallest falcon has been on the decline for years. Our findings support that these cute fluff balls can be a powerful, affordable, and effective tool for farmers to use to co-manage their farms for multiple goals.
Graphs comparing the number of birds per 100-m transect, the percentage of branches with bird feces, and the percentage of cherries with vertebrate damage in the presence and absence of American kestrels. The figure shows that the trends for birds per 100-m transect and the percentage of branches with feces are aligned: the presence of kestrels reduces both. The figure shows that in the presence of kestrels, cherry damage is lower. There is the most damage near seminatural cover and in the absence of kestrels.
We found that indeed, when cherry orchards have kestrel nest boxes, they have (1) fewer total birds, (2) lower fecal contamination, and (3) reduced crop damage -- a win-win-win for food safety, crop production, and conservation!
Cherry leaf with a bird dropping on it.
This made me wonder....if kestrels deter pest birds, can they improve food safety by deterring birds that poop on crops? I tested this exact question for my USDA Postdoctoral Fellowship and Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in EEB at Michigan State University.
Wooden kestrel nestbox standing tall in a tart cherry orchard.
Perceived food safety risks from birds, alongside notable damage to fruit crops, means that farms often try to exclude birds. However, most deterrents don't work very well and can be costly.
Enter: falcons! Prior work showed that kestrels lured to fields with nestboxes could deter pest birds.
🍒🪶Excited for our new article to come out in
@jappliedecology.bsky.social
We show that falcons attracted to orchards using nestboxes reduce food safety risks and crop damage from wild birds.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Cherry leaf with bird feces on it.
This made me wonder....if kestrels deter pest birds, can they improve food safety by deterring birds that poop on crops? I tested this exact question for my USDA Postdoctoral Fellowship and Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in EEB at Michigan State University.
Wooden kestrel nestbox standing tall in a tart cherry orchard.
Perceived food safety risks from birds, alongside notable damage to fruit crops, means that farms often try to exclude birds. However, most deterrents don't work very well and can be costly.
Enter: falcons! Prior work showed that kestrels lured to fields with nestboxes could deter pest birds.
A group of people smiling and holding binoculars getting ready to go birding. The park has a lawn and trees in the background.
September 2021 - very first MSU eeBirding ever!
A group of people smiling and holding binoculars getting ready to go birding. The park has a lawn and corn in the background.
September 2022
A group of people smiling and holding binoculars getting ready to go birding. The park has a lawn and an agricultural field in the background.
September 2023
A group of people smiling and holding binoculars getting ready to go birding. The park has a lawn and corn in the background.
September 2024
A group of people smiling and holding binoculars getting ready to go birding. The park has a lawn and trees in the background.
September birding with the MSU EEB Community. This is now the 5th year of me running this group!
Group of 16 people smiling and holding binoculars getting ready to go birding. They are in front of a tree on the side of the street.
Monthly MSU EEB Program birding
We're just getting into migration, so it wasn't the most exciting birding, but we did see about 20 wood ducks.
Woman holding binoculars looking for birds. She is standing in a small field of mixed vegetables. Behind her is a high tunnel and a shed that says "HOPE". In front of her is a sign that says, "market garden."
Really excited for the Smith BIRDS Lab to be starting up our first large research project! We're surveying small-scale diversified, organic farms in urban and rural areas to examine tradeoffs of having songbirds on farms in different contexts.
📸 Rachel Fredrickson looking for birds at Growing Hope
On our "rugged trail" loop, we saw 46 species total, including some colorful migratory birds. Our accessible trail group also had some great sightings, with 26 species total.
Group of 37 people smiling and facing the camera. They are carrying binoculars and cameras and about to go birding. It is a sunny spring morning but chilly, so they are wearing winter jackets.
The MSU EEB Program's monthly birding trip today was packed! This month, we opened up our birding group to the public as part of a warbler ID learning series co-hosted with the Michigan State Bird Observatory and Capital Area Audubon Society. We had somewhere around 40 birders join us!