When I arrived home in Maine seven weeks ago my friends Kathy and Bob already had eastern bluebirds coming to her feeders/nest boxes. So did my friend Bob. Recently I spent an afternoon bluebird watching with Kathy and Chris. A week ago the bluebirds and swallows were still debating who would nest where. I have seen them perched on my telephone wires and another neighbor Betsy has them nesting too!

Because I think of bluebirds as being insectivores (although they love berries too) their early arrival seemed unusual to me until I did a little research and discovered that bluebirds as a species are expanding their winter range as Climate Change continues to push them northward. I didn’t know that some have been living year round in Massachusetts for some time.

Most Eastern bluebirds who breed in northern climates do migrate, gathering in large numbers during November to fly south. In March, April, and May they move north to summer breeding grounds. In Florida where there is a stable population the bluebird may breed as early as January. Putting up nest boxes for bluebirds is helpful because these birds have lost so much habitat. Around my house here in Maine all snags have been left intact, as have all the trees so I have many natural cavities for all kinds of birds to nest in. But except for my field I have little open space. This year a friend of mine is making me a nest box, so perhaps I can attract a bluebird couple of my own.

Wherever these birds breed, the male initiates courtship often providing his mate with a tasty morsel or two while delicately fluttering his wings. The female lays four to six eggs that are a stunning shade of blue. Here at least, two broods are raised during one season. While the female sits on the second set of eggs, the male takes charge of the nestlings.

Caterpillars, spiders, and insects of various kinds provide the young with protein. Newly ploughed fields are an excellent source of insects and grubs. As previously mentioned bluebirds are also fond of berries and other ripe fruits. During the late summer and fall, bluebirds pounce on grasshoppers from the tops of mullein, an herb that is so common in natural fields. In the west hundreds of bluebirds might gather to feed on juniper berries. My guess is that they could do the same around here.

When I glimpsed bluebirds perched on my telephone wire a couple of weeks ago I got a chance to watch them through binoculars. I noted that the subtle coloring of the females varied as did the vibrant blue of the males.

I was also struck by how similar these eastern bluebirds were to those western bluebirds that I had glimpsed during the spring and early fall months in Abiquiu. I knew that I would probably not be able to distinguish one from the other unless I could identify the blue patch on the western male’s belly; the eastern bluebird has more white. Another identifying marker is that male western bluebirds have blue throats, while the male eastern bluebirds have orange or rust colored throats. I also didn’t know that the two species were so closely related that they interbred, or that both eastern and western bluebirds nested in the Rio Grande Bosque.

Around the casita I watched what I thought were western bluebirds (!) perch on the fence wire overlooking the field. When spotting tasty prey they sometimes took insects from the air; occasionally, they flew to the ground. By late fall these birds were gone.

Both eastern and western bluebirds prefer semi –open terrain; orchards, farms and ranches are excellent places because they are often surrounded by pine, oak, ponds for cattle, and streamside groves. Both eastern and western bluebirds tend to avoid hot dry regions during the summer but in the west they will nest in pinyon – juniper forests.

Overall, the eastern bluebird is also in decline for the usual reasons. In recent decades, the western bluebird numbers have fallen dramatically over much of their range. The use of pesticides and controlled and uncontrolled burns destroy masses of habitat and are creating havoc for all southwestern bird species. Because western bluebirds have also become relatively common Bosque breeders over the past two or three years, it is more important than ever to protect our precious Rio Grande Bosque.

Bluebirds are important in the traditions of many Native American cultures. In particular, Bluebird is a symbol of spring. In Iroquois mythology, it is the singing of the bluebird that drives away winter. Bluebirds are also associated with the wind by the Cherokees, and were believed to predict or even control the weather. The Navajo and Pueblo tribes associate bluebirds with the sun; in some Pueblo tribes, Bluebird is identified as the son of the Sun. The Hopi see the bluebird as a directional guardian, associated with the west.

I close this narrative with a personal memory…

When I was a little girl I would sit on my grandfather’s desk, (the same one that I write on now) and look out the east window to watch the bluebirds enter and leave their nest boxes. My grandfather had ten homemade boxes positioned across the large and open field. Each year the bluebirds returned and my grandmother, my little brother, and I loved to see the fledglings leave the nests for the first time. I was always afraid the little ones would fall and my grandmother would have to remind me that I had never seen one get hurt –not ever.

May the bluebirds live on!
You can see the increasing trends in Maine, very similar to what we identified above from CBC data. However on the national scale, you can see the sharp declines in abundance to bluebirds in the mid-Atlantic states.

The history of bluebirds in winter is not a very long one but it is startling to see the change. Inserted below is the results from Christmas Bird Counts in Maine since 1993, showing the total number of Eastern Bluebirds reported on each year’s counts. The increase is dramatic, especially in the last 10 years.

I don’t know if there is a perfect explanation for this, but I think it is a result of many factors.

First, range expansion due to climate change. This would be pretty comparable to other ‘southern’ birds that are expanding into Maine, like the Red-bellied Woodpecker I wrote about in January.

There may also be an increase in habitat. This is a tough one, because it may not be a good thing if I have it right. Bluebirds do very well in suburban areas, and suburban sprawl is a never-ending problem that continuously threatens our biodiversity.

On the plus side, there seems to be an increase in landowners developing bluebird trails which increases nesting locations. One factor I think plays a big factor in their ability to stay in the winter is increased food availability.

With suburban areas come ornamental plantings (again, not a good thing as they are usually non-native) that hold fruit late into the winter. Bluebirds convert their diets from insectivores (ground arthropods) in the nesting season to frugivores (small fleshy fruit) in the winter so there is definitely an increase in the amount of food that is available.

What ever the cause, it is nice to see a little more color in the winter.

-Doug

Meet Doug Hitchcox, Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist

“The bluebird is well named, for he wears a coat of the purest, richest, and most gorgeous blue on back, wings, and tail; no North American bird better deserves the name, for no other flashes before our admiring eyes so much brilliant blue. It has been said that he carries on his back the blue of heaven and the rich brown of the freshly turned earth on his breast; but who has ever seen the bluest sky as blue as the bluebird’s back?” (Quote describing the eastern bluebird from the Arthur Cleveland Bent series on the Birds of North America.)

The eastern bluebird is the only one of the 3 bluebird species regularly found in Maine. Bluebirds are usually found in fields, open woodlands, parks or along golf courses or other open areas, including suburban locations with open spaces and scattered tress. The eastern bluebird has a musical flight call that often reveals its presence.

Male eastern bluebird

Red = summer range, Green = year-around, Blue = winter range

In The Backyard:
Bluebirds can be attracted to peanut butter mixes, suet and fruit. Raisins soaked in hot water to soften them are well received. The bluebird’s special favorite is mealworms.

Nesting:
The eastern bluebird is a summer (nesting) resident in Maine. One or sometimes two broods may be produced. Watch for house sparrows trying to use the next box and immediately remove any house sparrow nesting material.

Here’s a colorful quote on bluebird courtship, also from the Bent series:
The love-making of the bluebird is as beautiful as the bird itself, and normally as gentle, unless interrupted by some jealous rival who would steal his bride; then gentleness gives place to active combat. The male usually arrives a few days ahead of the female, selects what he considers to be a suitable summer home, and carols his sweetest, most seductive notes day after day until she appears in answer to his call. Then he flutters before her, displaying the charms of his widespread tail and half-opened wings, warbling in delicious, soft undertones, to win her favor. At first she seems indifferent to the gorgeous blue of his overcoat or the warm reddish brown of his ardent breast. He perches beside her, caresses her in the tenderest and most loving fashion, and sings to her in most endearing terms. Perhaps he may bring to her some delicious morsel and place it gently in her mouth, as an offering. Probably he has already chosen the cavity or box that he thinks will suit her; lie leads her to it, looks in, and tries to persuade her to accept it, but much persistent wooing is needed before the nuptial pact is sealed. In the meantime a rival male may appear upon the scene and a rough and tumble fight ensue, the males clinching in the air and falling to the ground together, a confusing mass of blue and brown feathers struggling in the grass; but no very serious harm seems to have been done, as they separate and use their most persuasive charms to attract the object of their rivalry. At times, a second female may join in the contest and start a lively fight with her rival for the mate she wants. John Burroughs (1894) gives an interesting account of such a four-cornered contest, too long to be quoted here, in which the female of an apparently mated pair seemed to waver in her affections between her supposed mate and the new rival; and the latter seemed to have left the female of his first choice to win the bride of the other. However, after a much prolonged contest, the matter seemed to be satisfactorily settled, for two pairs of bluebirds finally flew off in different directions and started up housekeeping without further trouble

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