Kevin Berner and Bluebirds at the Gilboa Museum on April 17

GILBOA — The bluebirds were in danger toward the end of the 20th century. Ray Briggs, an agriculture and conservation teacher at Cobleskill High School, founded and was the first president of the Schoharie County Bluebird Society, and that society was crucial in reestablishing our bluebird population.

Kevin Berner, a professor at SUNY Cobleskill, joined Ray and brought his wildlife students to this fight. Many of them authored/coauthored research papers with Berner, whose research centered on nest box designs that would be attractive to bluebirds and repellant to invasive species. Berner also served as research chairman for both the North American Bluebird Society and the New York State Bluebird Society. Schoharie County became the “Bluebird Capital of New York State” due to the restoration of the county’s bluebird production.

Berner will be speaking at the Gilboa Museum on April 17th, at 6:00 on how you can attract bluebirds to your yard and how to monitor your nest boxes. The meeting is free, open to the public, and refreshments will be served. 

Kevin Berner: Bluebirds in Schoharie County will also be broadcast on Zoom (sans refreshments).  For viewing permission, please email gerrys@gilboamuseum.org with the subject line “Bluebirds.”