Prof. Stanback's Brown-headed Nuthatch Research a Hole in One

A six-year study by Professor of Biology Mark Stanback demonstrates that erecting small hole nest boxes on golf courses is an effective way to promote brown-headed nuthatches in an area.

Last summer Stanback put up bird boxes with holes smaller than regular bluebird box holes on golf courses in Pinehurst and Charlotte. He found that 74 percent of the boxes were occupied by brown-headed nuthatches. It was previously believed that bluebird competition for nest boxes was a threat to the brown-headed nuthatch, but Stanback's research demonstrates that small hole boxes would prevent the problem. Stanback is advising a program sponsored by Audubon North Carolina to install 10,000 new Brown-headed Nuthatch nest boxes across the state by 2015.

Read the article on Audubon North Carolina's website.