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The Texas Bluebird Society is an all-volunteer grassroots organization helping bluebirds and other cavity-nesting birds through increasing nesting sites while sustaining and increasing their food supply (insects; berries of native plants).
The Texas Bluebird Society was founded in 2001 by avid bluebirders from across the state who joined together to pool their passion for and knowledge of these beautiful birds.
By joining together we are able to:
- share Texas-specific experiences
- encourage habitat creation
- support research
- educate the public with regard to bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting birds
Bluebirding is not a competitive sport but a cooperative one. We are working on a project far larger than bluebirds! We are taking the DREAM "Bluebirds Across Texas . . . one nestbox at a time" and making it real! We are educating tens of thousands about changing habitat and the need for well-ventilated nestboxes that are appropriate for Texas conditions. By encouraging the planting of native trees and plants, we are helping to create diverse habitats that attract insects and provide berries for wintering bluebirds. This all helps to reduce habitat fragmentation and increase biodiversity.
A goal from the heart of the Texas Bluebird Society is to share the beauty and wonder of bluebirds. The vocal courtship of these birds when they discover a nestbox, then the miracle of egg laying, the patient incubation and nurturing of the eggs, the frantic feeding and caring for their young and the trials and tribulations of the family as the young leave the nest. These birds' lives condense into 30 days what would be 30 years for a human family.
Our members range from those who have the hope of one day seeing a bluebird or attracting a bluebird to a nestbox, to those who have been helping the bluebirds (and other native cavity-nesting birds) in one yard or dozens of yards or even thousands of yards all across Texas.
We ask members to participate in scientific study by opening at least one nestbox once or twice a week during nesting season and reporting their observation through NestWatch.org. Our presenters speak to organizations and work with school children. Those who staff a TBS Booth at a festival conduct membership nestbox exchanges and distribute educational materials. Some simply share with friends and neighbors their knowledge of bluebirds. Others distribute our website's information about bluebirds and plans for building a nestbox.
The Texas Bluebird Society needs volunteers in every part of the state to help share in this wonderfully rewarding hobby! We invite every Texan with a nestbox to participate in NestWatch, whether or not they're a member. We need volunteers for everything from nestbox builders to booth staffers to presenters to adults and children.
By joining together we are able to educate the public and conduct research specific to Texas, benefiting bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting birds. In the process, as people experience the "peace, joy and hope" of bluebirds, they often discover those same things in their own lives.
By joining the Texas Bluebird Society you can have a part in making "Bluebirds Across Texas . . . one nestbox at a time" a reality.
Why Texas Bluebird Society Exists
Everyone knows what Texas Bluebird Society does ("Bluebirds Across Texas ... one nestbox at a time") and how we do it. But, "why we exist" is a story in itself, told by Pauline Tom (a founder of the organization).
"Texas specific" publications did not exist when I started with bluebirds in 2000. The info I gleaned through extensive reading was not "incorrect" somewhere in the USA, but much did not apply in Texas (i.e., House Wrens; Tree Swallows; blowflies; hypothermia; spacing at 300-yards; NABS-sized nestboxes; migration south.)
Keith Kridler and David Shiels, located through cyberspace, taught me what works best for Texas differs from general info about bluebirding, including what's published by the North American Bluebird Society (NABS).
I cried out, "WHY doesn't NABS have an affiliate in Texas to help Texans??!!" NABS informed me, "In 20 years, no one has ventured to start an affiliate for all of Texas." And, no one had plans.
The void consumed me. With electronic communication, the time for a bluebird organization was right. In order to lend a helping hand to Texans, I got the ball rolling. Keith and David, bluebird experts with decades of experience in Texas, agreed to help make it a reality.
Help getting started came from outside Texas in the form of answered emailed questions from presidents of NABS affiliate organizations from coast to coast. At the NABS Convention in Ohio in June, I saw faces and heard voices of close comrades. And, after hundreds of emails just between the two of us, Keith Kridler (a charter NABS member) and I sat together for the first time, piecing together plans.
In the next few months, Keith rounded up a few other Texans with experience to comprise the Charter Board. We pooled passion and knowledge.
Texas Bluebird Society incorporated in September 2001. At the Board Meeting the following month, under oak trees in my backyard in Mountain City, a whirlwind brainstorm produced the slogan: Bluebirds Across Texas ... one nestbox at a time.
In that motto we stay centered, with roots that anchor us ...TEXAS (with a "nestbox-T") Bluebird Society. ---------- Lisa Lee, president@texasbluebirdsociety.org
The following is a map of our members, both past and present. Over 95% of them received a free nestbox through our signature "One Nestbox" membership special, which we offer at festivals and presentations and through our volunteer distributors.
Lisa Lee
President
Executive Committee
president@texasbluebirdsociety.org
Annette Banks
Vice President
Executive Committee
vp@texasbluebirdsociety.org
Leigh Ann Dye
Treasurer
Executive Committee
treasurer@texasbluebirdsociety.org
Ann Fox
Director
ann@texasbluebirdsociety.org
Dr. Thomas Wheeler
Director
tom@texasbluebirdsociety.org
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