Photo © Sally Cannon

NestWatch at Work

A growing number of employers consider nest boxes, and nest monitoring, to be a fun way to attract nesting birds to their business campus, document successful stewardship, and give employees meaningful ways to contribute to corporate environmental responsibility in their communities. This month, we’re highlighting two very different companies that are NestWatching, and sharing some tips for starting your own corporate stewardship program.

Sally Cannon is a processing/training coordinator for Bacardi Bottling Corporation, but she is also the Green Champion for the Jacksonville, Florida, campus. As part of Bacardi’s commitment to building a sustainable future, Sally and her colleagues started a bluebird trail in May 2014 and have since been contributing data to NestWatch. She and others have also recently begun planting milkweed to aid in the restoration of monarch butterflies (see sidebar for more on helping monarchs). This Jacksonville facility, with its 22 acres of native grasses and wildflowers, is a “Wildlife at Work” habitat certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council.

Sharon Moore, a legal assistant for Bob Evans Farms, LLC, started up a bluebird trail at the company’s “Farm North” corporate headquarters in New Albany, Ohio, in March 2014. Sharon, an avid birder, got the idea when she spotted a pair of bluebirds while walking the farm trails one day. Two years later, she can proudly say that 66 fledglings have taken wing from the boxes on this “green” commercial property. Sharon checks the boxes every week and reports to NestWatch.

Is your corporation interested in improving its value to wildlife? Here are some ideas to consider:

• Landscape with native plants
• Erect nest boxes
• Install water-friendly features like rain barrels, rain gardens, bioswales, or even a green roof
• Plant for pollinators (many of which are prey for birds)

The best way to document your successes, while also contributing to valuable research, is to participate in citizen science with us. Try recording nests with NestWatch or planning a company-wide Great Backyard Bird Count. We’re all busy, but what better way to spend a lunch break than by checking on the birds once a week?