Birds in Holes to be Prime Hook lecture topic Feb. 11

Local naturalist Raymond Hendrick will kick off the 2020 Prime Hook Refuge lecture series with a program he calls Birds in Holes at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Milton CHEER Center, 24855 Broadkill Road, Route 16, Milton.

Hendrick said that, for many people, the mention of birds’ nests brings to mind the robins nesting in their backyard tree branches or a Baltimore oriole’s basket-like nest hanging from a large oak in the park. Quite often, he said, people fail to think of the bird species that use old tree cavities for nest-building.

The list of cavity-nesters includes bluebirds, whom Hendricks has been studying for over 40 years, as well as purple martins, wood ducks, tree swallows, kestrels, great crested flycatchers, and some owl species.

With many changes taking place in the natural world, large areas of habitat that once supported ideal sites for cavity nesters have been lost. Today it is incumbent upon people to provide human-made structures to replace the natural ones.

Hendrick will show some examples of nesting boxes and talk about where to put them up, how to maintain them, and how to identify nests one may find. For example, the great crested flycatcher often will line its nest with snake skins.

Hendrick’s hope is to encourage everyone to help preserve these birds they have come to know and appreciate.

The event is free with no reservations required.