About the time we first
hear the robin’s ringing
welcome to spring we may
listen for the bluebird’s
more gentle greeting. No
bird’s song is more associ-
ated with the return of
spring than the bluebird’s:
nor is there a bird’s note
more expressive of the
passing season than the
bluebird’s autumn call of
far-away, far-away.
- Frank M. Chapman ,
Birdlife, 1897
tion of specifically designed blue-
bird houses with holes no larger
than 1-½” could effectively mitigate
these issues. Dr. Zeleny had begun
a movement that joined efforts in
Canada and spread to Mexico to
support bluebirds through educa-
tion, placement and monitoring of
bluebird boxes and trails. Across
the country, from small land-own-
ing private citizens, to huge public
parks, people began building and
installing these special boxes, with
great success.
State and local parks joined in
the effort as well, creating bluebird
box trails in many parks, including
Black Hill Regional Park, Seneca
Creek State Park, and the Wood-
stock Equestrian Park on Route
28. But though the parks’ efforts
helped, they faced a troubling
threat of vandals and foot-traffic
issues. In fact, in 2010 at a park
near Gaithersburg, vandals de-
stroyed the nest boxes, killed
12
plenty I autumn harvest 2019
hatchlings, and smashed eggs of
several nest boxes. So the Parks
service began looking to places
where foot traffic and habitat
destruction were less of an issue
and the vulnerable birds could be
better protected.
Enter the Ag Reserve! The Ag-
ricultural Reserve is ideal for blue-
birds, because they are not city
birds, nor are they deep woods
dwellers. They prefer open
spaces and mowed
grass, scattered trees
and grasslands. In
short, they need
an agricultural
setting. And
since the Ag
Reserve is com-
prised mainly
of private farms,
any birdhouses
installed here
would less likely be
vandalized.
But Anne was already on this
task! Since the 70’s she has been
installing bluebird boxes in many
parts of the Agricultural Reserve.
She placed them throughout her
family’s farm on Peach Tree Road.
She hung them up along Harris
Road in Barnesville. She built them
along the road in the Potomac
Hunt Club. She put them wherever
she could.
And the bluebirds came!
Before long, she was on the
board and later president of the
North American Bluebird Soci-
ety (NABS), supporting the effort
locally. Even now, she and her
friends, Linda Pepe, most recent
past president of the Maryland
Bluebird Society Stan Fisher, and
his wife Beth have been working
with the Global Ecology Magnet
Program at Poolesville High School
for the past six years educating the
next generation about the plight of
these sweet birds. They have been
teaching the students about blue-
bird trails and maintenance, and all
of the trails they study and monitor
are within the Ag Reserve.