Birdhouses along Trout Run Trail and Prairie Farmer Trail are well-used

A birdhouse along Trout Run Trail

Winneshiek County Conservation Board representative says the birdhouses placed along the Trout Run Trail and the Prairie Farmer Recreational Trail are serving their purpose, providing nesting sites to a variety of songbirds.

Nearly 60 birdhouses have been placed along the Trout Run Trail, with almost a 90 percent occupancy rate and a 38 percent bluebird nest rate.

More than 50 houses have been installed along the Prairie Farmer Recreational Trail, with 98 percent inhabited and 15 percent having bluebird nests.

The birdhouses were built during the fall of 2010 by volunteer employees of Rockwell Collins in Decorah and were installed by staff of the Winneshiek County Conservation Board. The project was funded by the Rockwell Collins Green Communities grant program and was designed to encourage bluebirds to populate and nest in the prairie corridors along the bike trails.

The birdhouses are located along the section of Trout Run Trail running from Trout Run Park (Bowstring Park) to the Decorah Trout Hatchery and back to Highway 9. They are found along the full length of the Prairie Farmer Recreation Trail.

The Winneshiek County Conservation Board maintains and monitors the birdhouses. Any organization, group, or club interested in adopting sets of birdhouses and providing for their care and maintenance is encouraged to contact the Winneshiek County Conservation Board at (563)534-7145 or by e-mailing conservation@neitel.net