The well-being of bluebirds is on their shoulders — two volunteers from Lutz, who maintain the birds’ habitat and nest boxes at Lake Park.
Joni Hartzler and Gary Krotz, a husband and wife duo, diligently keep a watchful eye on the 25 bird boxes throughout the park.
They are members of the Tampa Audubon Society, the longstanding environmental conservation group that focuses on birds and other wildlife.
Each week, they jump in their golf cart and check on each box during nesting and mating season, which runs from January to June. In this time, the bluebirds — along with other species such as Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren and the Titmouse — use the boxes to build nests, lay and hatch eggs, nurse chicks and then send baby birds out into the park.
“We love it,” said Hartzler, who, along with Krotz, has been maintaining the boxes and tracking the bluebirds for three seasons now. “We’re big bird lovers, and when you go out and check, each time is like a surprise. You don’t know if there will be a new nest or more eggs, or if those eggs have hatched or if the nest is empty.
“You just never know what you’re going to get!”
When Hartzler and Krotz took over three years ago, they set out to improve the bird box program at Lake Park. It was not in disarray, but the couple, who have no educational background in environmental sciences or Ornithology (the study of birds), just knew of potential ways to make it better.
“It’s a big job,” Hartzler said. “Moving boxes, for sure. But keeping track and going to each box, and when we started they didn’t let us use a golf cart, so being able to do that has been a huge help.
“But Gary fixed the roofs on the boxes, and we installed precautions for predators and other elements, too.”
Krotz hand-built predator guards out of sheet metal to keep out several types of mammals, and the two also put substances on the poles to keep out certain insects.
“I’d never done anything like (building something out of metal), but it was an experience,” Krotz said. “I like putzing around and doing little things, but especially going around the park and maintaining the boxes.
“We’re bird lovers, we’ve been to bird conventions and we’ve been bird watchers (since 1987), so we love this and we just love being outdoors.”
Hartzler and Krotz keep detailed logs of the 25 bird boxes in Lake Park. This includes if the box has a nest or not, eggs or not, and chicks or not. If the nest is empty, after the eggs have hatched and the baby birds have left, they clean out the box. Most likely a week later, a new nest will already be in place.
As volunteers, they do it for the love of nature and birds. However, those at the park know programs like this wouldn’t exist without Tampa Audubon or its members.
“We’re a little short-staffed,” said Senior Park Ranger Jim Malley, who is in his 16th year with Hillsborough County Parks.
“Having volunteers like this from the Audubon Society is just an excellent, wonderful thing. I’ve learned how to put the guards on the poles, thanks to them.
“Bluebirds are a yearly thing at the park now thanks to the Audubon society and without them it wouldn’t be happening. We’re grateful to have them,” said Malley.
Tampa Audubon Society
Details: Established in the 1940s, the Tampa Audubon Society is an active chapter that serves the greater Tampa Bay area and its suburbs, from Citrus Park, Brandon, Odessa, Riverview and Seffner. Its mission is to conserve and restore ecosystems, focusing on birds, wildlife and their habitats, through education, advocacy and community involvement.
Info: TampaAudubon.org
Published on May 25, 2022.
