A wood-concrete nest box to study burrow-nesting petrels

Published source details Bedolla-Guzmán Y., Masello J.F., Aguirre-Muñoz A. & Quillfeldt P. (2016) A wood-concrete nest box to study burrow-nesting petrels. Marine Ornithology, 44, 249-252.
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Summary

Provide artificial nesting sites for burrow-nesting seabirds

A replicated study in 1999–2005 on San Benito West Island, Mexico (Bedolla-Guzmán et al. 2016) reported that up to 80% of wooden nest boxes were occupied by auklets and petrels. A total of 140 nest boxes were installed in 1999. In the first year, 30% of the boxes were used by nesting Cassin’s auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus (early in the season) and 27% were used by nesting black storm petrels Oceanodroma melania (later in the season). By the fifth and six years, occupancy had risen to 80% for Cassin’s auklet and 53% for black storm petrels. The boxes had 150-mm-diameter entrance tunnels and were deployed in habitats preferred by black storm petrels. The study does not report any other details of nest box design.

A replicated study in 2012 on San Benito West Island, Mexico (Bedolla-Guzmán et al. 2016) reported that nest boxes were used by breeding storm petrels Oceanodroma spp., and that some chicks fledged. A total of 102 wood-concrete nest boxes were installed in summer 2012, in areas with existing storm petrel burrows and old wooden nest boxes. In 2013, forty boxes were moved to a different, known breeding area for one speces. A total of 12 nesting attempts were recorded in 2014 and 2015. Leach’s storm petrels O. leucorhoa fledged four chicks from five nesting attempts. Least storm petrels O. microsoma fledged four chicks from seven nesting attempts. The nest boxes were situated on gradual slopes with loose soil, and buried 5 cm into the ground. They were 0.5–3.0 m apart. Most boxes had plastic entrance pipes (50, 63 or 75 mm in diameter). The boxes for least storm petrels an entrance built from rocks instead of a pipe.