I had a nice bird walk this weekend and found 24 species in the bitter cold. When I got home, I was treated to a surprise eastern bluebird sighting in the yard. Below, a winter wren was one of the highlights of the walk.
I’ve been getting quite a few emails about bluebirds lately. I see that as a good sign about the rebounding eastern bluebird population.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s AllAboutBirds.com, my go-to website for information about North American birds, says the eastern bluebird is a species of “low concern.” The site reads, “Eastern Bluebird populations fell in the early twentieth century as aggressive introduced species such as European Starlings and House Sparrows made available nest holes increasingly difficult for bluebirds to hold on to. In the 1960s and 1970s, establishment of bluebird trails and other nest-box campaigns alleviated much of this competition, especially after people began using nest boxes designed to keep out the larger European Starling. Eastern Bluebird numbers have been recovering since.”
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Here are a few more photos of the eastern bluebirds I saw at the cemetery a few weeks ago. Here’s the original post with story.
It looks like another Winter of the Bluebird.
In recent years, I have proclaimed our coldest season as the Winter of … whatever bird is being seen in unusually high numbers that winter. I remember the Winter of the Snowy Owl in 2014 and the Winter of the Barred Owl in 2019 (that winter was crazy with all the owls being seen throughout New England.) Juncos and robins have also made the list.
But this year, for the second time in three years, it has to be the Winter of the Bluebird. It is the first repeat selection. I should probably mention here that this is strictly my own proclamation based on my personal experiences and emails received from readers. There is absolutely nothing scientific about this.
I’ve seen bluebirds in a variety of locations this winter. I haven’t been lucky enough to attract them to my house, but I have received several emails from readers who have seen bluebirds in their yards. Many readers have sent along photos, which I appreciate and post to my blog.
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Here are a few more eastern bluebird photos I managed to get in addition to the one I used to support my last column, which may be found here. It appears to be another good year for seeing bluebirds this New England winter as I’ve heard from several readers who have seen these beauties.
We don’t usually think of eastern bluebirds as a winter bird in New England, but many bluebirds tough out our cold months. Visits from or sightings of bluebirds brighten the short winter days, for sure. Here’s a collection of photos of bluebirds in the snow.
I hadn’t seen bluebirds at my feeder since May, but back they came earlier this week. They stayed for about 10 minutes and were gone. I haven’t seen them since. I had a few other surprise visitors to the feeder this week. More on that Continue reading
A Day on Merganser Lake
I posted more than my share of eastern bluebird photos in April and May, but somehow this one slipped through the cracks. Here’s a shot of one coming in for a landing on a birch branch.
A Day on Merganser Lake
With two teenage boys I can relate to the photo above. I originally thought the bluebird pair that has been coming around since February had only one youngster. Then, all these birds showed up a few hours later. Click here for yesterday’s post, which provides more context.
A Day on Merganser Lake
I have been seeing an eastern bluebird pair at my feeders daily since February. I’m in a fairly wooded area and there are no open fields (bluebird’s preferred nesting area) in the neighborhood. I assumed it was a young pair that wasn’t breeding this year as it was well into the nesting season and they were still visiting daily.
To my pleasant surprise, yesterday the pair showed up with a youngster. It is a noisy and demanding little bluebird. The parents are dutiful in feeding it. I still don’t know exactly where they nested but I’m happy to still see them every day, especially with a youngster in tow. I’ve also seen them in the woods behind my house catching natural prey so, thankfully, they are not relying solely on my mealworm handouts. It’s also nice to see that it is indeed a bluebird youngster and not a cowbird as I’ve seen plenty of those around this spring.
Here are a few more shots of the family.
Birds of New England.com 