Quinns hope to hear bluebirds' call this spring
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Doug Quinn makes nesting boxes to put throughout his land and his neighborhood in hopes of encouraging the Eastern Bluebird to settle in the area.

An Ashburnham couple are continuing their work trying to bring the Eastern Bluebird back in force to the area.

Doug and Mary Quinn have been working for more than 15 years to help re-establish the bluebird population. The Quinns use their 25 acres to house a few bluebird couples every spring.

"They need places to nest," Doug said.

The couple put up nesting boxes, which Doug builds, to help encourage the birds to keep returning.

"They are cavity-nesting birds," he said. He added that because of the reduction of many of the trees in the area it is harder for the birds to find a home.

"People can make a difference," he said.

The bluebirds are about 5.5 inches long with a thin bill. The male bird is bright blue with an orange-red throat, breast and sides, while the female has a slight-duller blue for her wings and tail, a gray head and back with white eye rings and a brownish throat, breast and sides and a white belly and under-tail.

"It's a beautiful, beautiful bird. … They are rare," Doug said. "Years ago they were everywhere."

Doug uses some of his free time to build and repair nesting boxes in his workshop.

"We need to protect the environment as much as we can," he said. "This is a little something people can do and get satisfaction from."

The couple has long been interested in bird watching but developed a fascination for bluebirds.

"It started one day when I came home from the grocery store," Mary said. "A whole flock (of bluebirds) was in the backyard."

Doug had seen the flock in the backyard and paced outside the couple's Russell Hill Road home until Mary returned.

Doug recently served as the president of the North American Bluebird Society, a nonprofit organization that works towards the recovery of bluebirds and other native cavitynesting bird species in North America.

"We have about 5,000 members in the United States and Canada," he said.

The couple remains involved with the organizations but have let the management of the club move on to other people.