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Trifecta of Bluebird Families Breeding at LMU

LMU’s favorite Western Bluebird couple, Blue Ivy Carter and Sage, came back for a third year in a row this past spring to fledge a new brood of chicks in Box #2!  Not only did we have this lovely pair raising a family, but in February of this year we put out a third bird box near the Loyola Boulevard entrance (box #3), in a row of Jacaranda trees, and by March there was a NEW pair taking up residence. One of our students, Noah, who was assigned to watch the birds as part of his commitment working with CURes, named them “Alex and Casey.”  Meanwhile we got a big surprise was when Ian Kimbrey, Bluebird Bird Nest Guru, https://www.instagram.com/cheepcheephomes/, discovered a THIRD PAIR in Box #1 (located in a pine tree to the right of the Sacred Heart Chapel).  Last year a pair of House Wrens took up residence in this box, but this year a new pair of Bluebirds occupied the nest.  We named them “Ozzie and Harriet.” 

Over the summer our 3 pairs of Western Bluebirds at LMU successfully raised their first broods from their first clutches, and 2 of the 3 had successful second clutches.  Needless to say, it’s been a very good year for Bluebirds in the area!  Ian reported that the three bluebird nest boxes at LMU fledged a total of 23 chicks this year, more than double last year’s total of 11. Since the first nest in 2022 we have added a total of 40 bluebirds to the campus population! 

That LMU total doesn’t include the surprise nest down in Playa Vista, on the riparian corridor trail, where, in nest box #28, another pair successfully fledged five chicks of their own this past summer!   

Over 30 boxes were installed along the wood fencing adjacent to Bluff Creek when Playa Vista Elementary School shortly after the new school opened in 2012. Some of those boxes were creatively painted with themes as part of family projects to raise money for programs at the new elementary school.  Over the next 12 years the nest boxes, originally erected to attract Tree Swallows and/or Western Bluebirds, had sporadic occupancy by House Wrens.  It wasn’t until 2024 that not only did a pair of Bluebirds nest (in box #28), but also a pair of Tree Swallows (in box #54).  It just goes to show you, if you build it… eventually, they will come! 

If you would like to watch some videos of our LMU bluebirds please click on the YouTube links below: 

Blue Ivy Carter and Sage  https://youtube.com/shorts/ZcD0jOfT310 

Sage flying out of nest box with fecal sac  https://youtube.com/shorts/1rCQsubvvC8  

Alex at the entrance to his Box #3  https://youtube.com/shorts/DkaEqYNA8RU 

Bluebird baby being fed by Dad with Yellow Warbler photo bombing!  https://youtube.com/shorts/fho-z6o29bA 

Baby Bluebirds Snuggling  https://youtube.com/shorts/NixiY2Pkfa8 

Harriet and Junior at Mealworm Tray  https://youtu.be/PC12PRnd7cQ 

Harriet Gathering Mealworms for Babies  https://youtube.com/shorts/KkiJvj98tbE?feature=share 

Sage Goin’ for the Live Ones  https://youtu.be/S4TLSohAptk 

Casey Stuffing His Beak  https://youtube.com/shorts/NBn127l964E?feature=share 

New Publications from CURes Managing Director

CURes Managing Director Michele Romolini was an author on two new publications related to environmental stewardship and governing for the sustainable city.

First, Dr. Romolini authored “Stewardship Networks and the Evolution of Governance for the Sustainable City,” a chapter in the edited volume, Science for the Sustainable City: Empirical Insights from the Baltimore School of Urban Ecology, recently published by Yale University Press. In the chapter, Dr. Romolini and her co-authors explore changes in the network of organizations conducting environmental stewardship activities in the Gwynns Falls Watershed in Baltimore, MD. Over the span of 12 years, from 1999-2011, they found the overall number of stewardship organizations increased by 64% and the number and influence of federal and state agencies decreased, in favor of a larger presence and role for local non-profits and city agencies.

Second, Dr. Romolini was part of a team led by Drs. Michelle Johnson and Dexter Locke to publish “Context Matters: Influence of Organizational, Environmental, and Social Factors on Civic Environmental Stewardship Group Intensity” in the latest issue of Ecology and Society. This paper drew upon data from Dr. Romolini’s dissertation research on stewardship networks in Baltimore and Seattle, comparing them to similar stewardship organization data collected in New York City and Chicago. The researchers used spatial analysis techniques to assess: What are the neighborhood-level organizational, socioeconomic, and environmental characteristics associated with urban environmental stewardship? Findings revealed some consistent patterns across cities: (1) stewardship activity areas are unequally distributed across each city, and (2) organizational variables are more strongly associated with number of stewardship groups than any environmental or socioeconomic variables.

These two works help forward the study of environmental stewardship, management, and governance of urban natural resources.

For more publications from the CURes team, visit: academics.lmu.edu/cures/research/publications