Volunteers Hope to Bring Bluebirds Back to Montgomery

With any luck, spring and summer in Montgomery will be a lot more blue this year.

On Saturday morning, about 40 volunteers made their way to the public works building on Knell Road to hammer together 50 birdhouses. Over the next few weeks, those birdhouses will be placed all over the village, in areas with tall grass, water and nearby trees.

The hope, according to Trustee Stan Bond, is to attract bluebirds back to the area. Urban development has contributed to chasing the birds away in recent years, and Bond and the other members of the village’s Beautification Committee want to bring them back.

And if some of them build nests and hatch their young here, there is every chance they’ll keep coming back, Bond said, since bluebirds tend to return to the place they’re hatched. The committee plans to install 50 birdhouses a year, and in a few years, he said, Montgomery could become home to bluebirds once again.

Which would be great news for birdwatchers like Kate McCullough and Ken Murphy, who were on hand Saturday to drill holes and pound nails. They live in Blackberry Creek, and have volunteered to monitor the birdhouses hung there, cleaning them out when needed and taking pictures of the birds that land there.

McCullough said she has been a nature lover for her entire life, and has several birdhouses in her back yard. She said the bluebird project is “custom made” for her, and she and Murphy both said they look forward to snapping some great pictures.

Saturday’s event even brought out members of Cub Scout Pack 336 from Oswego, who were on a nature hike earlier that morning. Cubmaster Brian Soares said it offered his Scouts “a chance to come together and do something that benefits someone other than themselves.”

Liz Copeland, a Montgomery resident who volunteers with the Fox Valley Wildlife Center and the Kendall County Forest Preserve, among other organizations, said a project like this is all about being good stewards of the environment. Copeland and  Beautification Committee member Tom Yakaitis have volunteered to monitor the houses placed in the Seasons Ridge area.

Yakaitis said Saturday’s event saw the largest response ever for a committee project, and he hopes some of the people who turned up will be intrigued enough to join in on other initiatives. The committee oversees the holiday decorations contest each year, and plants the flowers along the Mill Street Bridge, among other things.

Bond admits that the bluebird project is a different realm for the committee, but said it fits with its mission—it will create something beautiful for all to enjoy.

The committee is still seeking out volunteers to hang the birdhouses, and monitor them. If you’re interested, contact Bond by emailing  bond@ci.montgomery.il.us or calling (630) 440-1007.