Bluebirds thrive in Sandusky County

FREMONT — A local organization has been ensuring rare bluebirds have a place in Sandusky County.The Green Creek Wildlife Society has helped increase the population of Eastern Bluebirds in Northwest Ohio since it officially formed in 1984."I have banded more than 11,000 bluebirds. Every year when I see my first male bluebird I still get excited. It is the bluest blue you have seen. Someone once said the bluebird wears the sky on its back," said Tom Kashmer, founder of the Green Creek Wildlife Society.After feeding his young, an eastern bluebird perches on top of a pole in Riley Township on Friday, May 12, 2017. The society began 33 years ago as an environmental and conservation club with Kashmer, a Gibsonburg teacher at the time, and five high school students.He wanted to get his students out of the classroom and into the field as often as possible. The first project for the group was to increase the population of Eastern Bluebirds."When you are teaching kids, you are as hands on as possible," Kashmer said.They built 25 bluebird nesting boxes that first year. The society effort that year saw 29 bluebirds move into the county.Tom Kashmer and Lisa Rock of Green Creek Wildlife Society examine a bluebird box in Riley Township on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.Today the group is made up of all ages. The work of the Green Creek Wildlife Society has proven successful as Sandusky County is home to a large population of bluebirds.The increasing numbers are a result of diligent work.Kashmer, project manager Lisa Rock and more than 100 volunteers monitor about 800 boxes which have been home to 11,000 baby Eastern Bluebirds.Bluebirds are timid birds and can easily been driven out of nests by more aggressive birds, such as House Sparrows.Monitoring has also spotted healthy populations for another bird species, the Purple Martin.A pair of purple martins perch on a nesting gourd in a colony in Riley Township on Friday, May 12, 2017. Both birds love the big open spaces of area marsh land in the area.Kashmer, who is a federal licensed bander, tags the Bluebirds with small metal rings to track the numbers of birds, their movements and identify new birds that have come into the area.Everything is recorded.Kashmer bands an eastern bluebird chick on a state owned wildlife production area in Sandusky County on Friday. This allows the group to spot trends, nesting success and oversee the overall ecological health of the area.Volunteers spend hundreds of hours monitoring the nests to check on adult birds and any eggs they may have. Volunteers with more than 30 hours are rewarded, such as with outdoor adventures trips like to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park.The work is well worth it to see the Eastern Bluebirds and Purple Martins thriving in the area, Kashmer said.Want to help?Sponsor a Bluebird boxCost: $30Become a volunteerEmail greencreekws@gmail.com for more information on either.In order to document the eastern bluebird population, Federally licensed bird bander Tom Kashmer grabs a chick from a nest to band on Friday, May 12, 2017. Green Creek Wildlife Society founder Tom Kashmer finds a nest full of bluebird chicks in a rural area of Sandusky County on Friday, May 12, 2017. With food in beak, an eastern bluebird prepares to enter a box created by members of the Green Creek Wildlife Society in Riley Township. Lisa Rock holds a mirror to show baby blue birds resting in one of their boxes on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.