Brian Evans installs bluebird next boxes at South Main Street

The bluebird is the Missouri state bird and several nest boxes have been installed on South Main Street to provide shelter.

Jim Current, retired pilot from Hannibal, used recycled wood scraps and PVC pipe to build the nesting boxes and donated them to the Parks &Recreation Department. They have been installed along the tree line on South Main Street, 300 feet apart. Current said bluebirds are territorial and will not use a nesting box closer than that. The birds lay eggs in cavities, usually a hollowed-out area in a tree, but providing nesting boxes gives bluebirds more options.

Eastern bluebirds begin arriving at their breeding locations in March and April and migrate back south in October and November.