Eastern
Bluebird
by Mike & Cindy Liberton
In the
mid-1800s, poet Henry Thoreau penned "The bluebird carries the sky on his
back." Indeed, once you get to
know this sky-blue songbird, it is easy to sing its praises. In Hernando County,
look for the Eastern bluebird perching on the fence posts alongside open
pastures and pinelands. At first glance you may only see an unremarkable small
dark bird, but closer inspection will be quickly rewarded. The males of the
species are a bright blue with their throat and breast painted red over a white
belly. Females are similar, just not as vibrant in their colors.
But
their beauty is more than feather-deep. Its soft melodious warble, gentle
manner, and family life enchant those who know this bird. Sometime between March
and June, the male courts the female with spread wings, song and preening.
They then settle down to family life, creating a close bond to raise
their young. The male will locate the nest cavity and attempt to defend it from
predators and other birds seeking to evict the family. The pair can have two
clutches of 3 to 5 pale blue eggs in the same year. It is not unusual to find
members of the first clutch helping to feed their younger siblings. Bluebirds
also can be quite neighborly; in cold weather, you can sometimes find communal
gatherings in nest boxes where dozens of birds gather to share their warmth.
During
spring and summer months the bluebird dines on insects and grubs– a great help
to farmers and gardeners. In the winter, migratory visitors can be spotted
alongside the permanent, Florida-resident bluebirds as they seek out their
preferred menu of small fruits, such as those of the sparkleberry. The bluebird
does these plants a great favor by spreading their seeds.
One
hundred years ago, this small, colorful songbird was a familiar resident of
roadsides, fields, parks and pastures. By the 1950’s, however, 90% of their
numbers were gone. How did this happen? Over the years, numbers of bluebirds and
other cavity-nesters such as purple martins and chickadees plunged because of
the introduction of aggressive bird species such as sparrows and starlings,
which steal their nests. The landscape of their preferred habitat, such as
Florida’s open pinelands found in sandhill plant communities, has changed
drastically due to development, agri-timber, and degradation due to fire
suppression. Other problems include the loss of natural nesting sites when dead
trees and wooden fence posts, often used by bluebirds as nesting cavities, are
removed.. Nowadays, many people can’t recall ever seeing a blue bird, and it
has become a species of “special concern,” in Florida.
Fortunately,
some people are already working to stop the decline of this beautiful species.
Since tree cavities are not always present, providing artificial nesting boxes
can help, and many public lands, such as Chinsegut Nature Center, have
successfully used these boxes to raise generations of bluebirds.
Much information about construction and placement of bluebird boxes has
been developed as a part of bluebird restoration efforts. For example, the best
houses have a 1.5-inch opening into a 5 x 5 x 8” interior, and should be
mounted about 100 yards apart, 4 to
6 feet off the ground, in an open area. Nest boxes work best at the edges of
fields. Parks, golf courses and cemeteries have been shown to be good areas, as
are pasturelands, because they provide the open country, short grass areas and
nearby trees bluebirds need for spying and catching insects.
Beauchamp,
S. (1997) Declining Bluebird Making a Comeback in Central Florida.
University of South Florida News Release.
http://www.napa.ufl.edu/oldnews/bluebird.htm
Ehrlich,
P. R, Dobkin, D. S., & Wheye, Darryl (1998). The Birder's Handbook: A
Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York, NY:
Simon and Schuster
Martin, Alexander, et al. American Wildlife & Plants: A Guide To Wildlife Food Habits. Dover Publications: New York, NY. 1951Stokes, Donald & Lillian. Stokes Nature Guides: A Guide to Bird Behavior, Vol. III. Little, Brown & Co.: New York, NY 1996
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