Sialis
 
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Bluebirding in Northeastern CT

email address for sialis.orgIf you have corrections, input, comments or suggestions on this website, please don't hesitate to contact me. My name is Bet, and my email address is ebluebird"at"charter.net (replace "@" with "at" symbol.) (I never spam - see my privacy policy).

If you have a question or bluebird emergency and don't hear back from me right away, you might try one of these online resources:

  • Bluebirding Forum (Garden web discussion forum - mostly backyard bluebirders, some very experienced people and great photographers. You will find many helpful, kindred souls there)
  • Bluebird Nut Cafe (discussion forum. Discussion of active House Sparrow management allowed)
  • Bluebird_L Mailing List (Cornell - many experienced trail monitors post, along with newbies. Must subscribe. Archived postings available, sorted by topic.)

If you have an injured bird, contact your nearest wildlife rehabber: Locate Wildlife Rehabilitators.

I specialize in cavity nesters and can't help too much with other birds (e.g., identifying nests/eggs of open cup nesting birds.)

Photo by Wendell Long.I developed this website to share information with anyone interested in bluebird conservation, after so many others have helped me with answers and input. I do it out of gratitude towards all those who have shared their knowledge and experiences with me, and penance for the mistakes I have made. It is free from the influence of advertising. I hope you find it useful. I will be the first to admit that I am still learning, and welcome any feedback on how this site can be improved, as I want it to be accurate, reliable and clear. See page on accuracy.

Thank you for visiting. You're welcome to use any of the content to write articles - if it's for a bluebirding newsletter, I'd enjoy receiving a copy. It helps me stay in touch with my inner bird nerd.

Someone on a bluebirding forum once asked "Who/what is Bet?" I live northeastern Connecticut. In terms of education and work experience, I have a B.S. from UCONN, and an M.S. from Yale in Environmental Management, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in South America. I am a Certified Environmental Professional, and have worked in environmental protection for 28 years. One of my goals in life is to leave this world not worse, or even the same, but better than it was before I got here.

I saw my first bluebird ever in Bickleton, WA around 1994. I saw my first Eastern Bluebird in the winter of 1998, when I was startled by a flash of blue by my home office window. See my theories about why we love bluebirds. Realizing that bluebirds might be interested in nesting in the area, I set up a trail. Then they sort of multiplied. See details.

Most of what I know about bluebirds I owe to those who came before me. I believe that "We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness on sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size. " (John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, 1159)

The website name is latin for the Eastern Bluebird species (Sialia sialis) although I have expanded the site to include all small cavity nesters (including Mountain and Western Bluebirds). I started the website a few years back after seeing a great list of resources on the Bluebirding Forum. I volunteer on the local Conservation Commission, and developed an educational website for them (which of course has a page on bluebirding). I also volunteer to conserve open space, which is critical to bluebird survival. A few years ago, I assumed webmaster duties for the Best of Bluebird_L Classifieds, a resource Jim McLochlin of the Audubon Society of Omaha put together. It captures postings from the Bluebird Listserv and organizes them into categories. My favorite bluebird book is The Bluebird Monitor's Guide by Berger, Kridler, and Griggs.

I belong to the Massachusetts Bluebird Society and am a Life Member and Board Member of NABS, and provide data on trail results to those organizations, as well as to the CT Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Cornell's Birdhouse Network. I write a newspaper column on conservation and environmental protection issues for The Villager newspapers (www.ourbetternature.org). In between, I work part-time from home for a non-profit research and development organization. A neighbor and wonderful friend, Joe Chapuis, hosts this website for free and has saved me from many HTML errors. My geologist husband helps install and repair nestboxes, and patiently listens to endless bluebird blather.

See more information about my trails.

Thank you for your own efforts to fill the skies with blue!

Photo by Wendell Long


...the last chapter on bluebirding has not been written.
- Pauline Tom, 2004

Disclaimer: The author does not make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, safety or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed on this website, or represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, link, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the author.

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May all your blues be birds!

Photo in header by Wendell Long. If you experience problems with the website/find broken links/have suggestions/corrections, please contact me!
The purpose of this site is to share information with anyone interested in bluebird conservation.
Feel free to link to it (preferred as I update content regularly), or use text from it for personal or educational purposes, with a link back to http://www.sialis.org or a citation for the author.
No permission is granted for commercial use.
© Original photographs are copyrighted, and may not be used without the express permission of the photographer. Please honor their copyright protection.
See disclaimer, necessitated by today's sadly litigious world.
Last updated June 14, 2008 . Design by Chimalis.

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