Bluebird Nest Parasites

TEMJ 19853 - Nest Parasites, Community Science, UCONN, KnutieLab

Field Trip to the University of Connecticut - KnutieLab

On October 1, 2022, this Earthmonk and a group of fellow Master Naturalists met in Storrs, CT. We spent the afternoon with Dr. Sarah Knutie, a University of Connecticut (UCONN) principal investigator and her lab members consisting of under graduates and graduate students. Our goal was to learn more about the “small, but mite-y” world of bluebird nest parasites. 

Our UCONN hosts, pun intended, in alphabetic order were:

1. Heather Bjerke, Undergraduate Student, and crew member

2. Sydney Horan, PhD student, and graduate student leader

3. Dr. Sarah Knutie, Assistant Professor, and project Leader

4. Alyssa McGurger, Masters student, and crew member

5. Caroline Webb, Undergraduate, and crew leader

L to R: Alyssa McGurger, Sydney Horan, Caroline Webb, Heather Bjerke, Dr. Sarah Knutie, and Elizabeth Merrow

Subject to Change

The days leading up to Saturday, October 1st were filled with uncertainty about the weather in Storrs. The remnants and outer bands of hurricane Ian were rolling towards Storrs. The night before we all were unsure about how much “disturbed” weather would arrive. The Greek god Anemoi was in a playful mood on Saturday and by divine intervention the weather held off.  Despite the dark skies and the antics of the wind gods Boreas, Notus, Eurus and Zephyrus, we did not have to retreat indoors. 

Our Agenda

Our agenda included meeting outside in the parking lot, by the Dairy Bar, near Horse Barn Hill. Here we built three bird nesting boxes.  We then discussed the ideal method to mount and locate nesting boxes so as to attract Bluebirds. After our field work, we took a short walk to the GANT building for a lecture with Dr. Knutie. Thereafter, Dr. Knutie delivered a tour of her new lab (KnutieLab) where we had a hands-on demonstration of how to dissect a bird’s nest. The capstone for the afternoon was a visit at the UCONN Dairy Bar for some ice cream (Husky Tracks for me).