Free Bird Nesting Boxes

The Rensselaer Plateau Alliance has bluebird and wood duck nesting boxes available to the public for free. In 2011, the RPA collaborated with Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center and the Averill Park School District to build the boxes. Fourth grade students from Miller Hill Elementary School and Robert C. Parker school worked with older students to build the boxes as part of a service learning project. Dyken Pond EE Center provided educational programs on birds and their habitats in the classroom. Students also visited Dyken Pond Center on a field trip to observe and study birds in their living ecosystems. Students then worked on a project that would benefit their local community.
Nesting boxes are available free for landowners who live on the Rensselaer Plateau, have suitable habitat and are willing to monitor the boxes each year. Suitable habitat for bluebirds are open areas including fields, pastures or large lawns. Wood ducks nest in woodland areas near shallow water in lakes, ponds, streams and vegetated wetlands. Boxes must be placed on lands on the Rensselaer Plateau. Please contact Lisa Hoyt, Dyken Pond EE Center, at 658-2055 or dykenpond@fairpoint.net to determine if you are eligible for a box. Nest boxes should be in place by the end of March for this year’s nesting season.