His soft warble melts the ear, as the snow is melting in the valleys around. The bluebird comes and with his warbles drills the ice and sets from the rivers and ponds and frozen ground.
- Henry D. Thoreau, 1859
Bluebird of Happiness
The North American Bluebird has put smiles on our faces for generations. An icon of our continent no less important to our natural identity than the bald eagle, the little bluebird is a revered part of North American lore and history.
It is said that in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s every farmhouse in America had a bluebird nest box nearby. The bluebirds not only brought good tidings with their happy songs, they were also valued by farmers for their appetite for insects and their lack of taste for important crops. Even before European settlers spread west, Native Americans welcomed bluebirds into their lives with hollowed-out gourds.
There are stories of large flocks of bluebirds in American pasturelands delighting residents and passersby. And, the single bluebird who pays an unexpected visit to his human friends each Spring has earned him the affectionate title: “Bluebird of Happiness.” How can anyone’s day not be brightened by the sight of such a lovely song-bird?
The Bluebird’s Tragic Decline
Starting in the early or mid-1900’s, the North American Bluebird population fell dramatically. At the lowest point, most estimates indicate that the Eastern Bluebird population fell by 90%, a staggering decline. As with many cases of wildlife decline, there was a combination of causes for this problem:
1.) The reduction of natural bluebird nesting sites.
Unlike many nesting birds, bluebirds are very fickle in their nesting requirements. They are cavity nesters, but their beaks are not strong enough to create their own nesting cavities, so they must utilize pre-existing nesting cavities. Traditionally, the bluebird would find these places in decomposing logs and standing dead trees. Sometimes the bluebird would take up residence where a woodpecker had pecked out a nice cavity. Because of the bluebird’s requirements, suitable nesting sites have never been easy to come by for the bluebird even before human encroachment on their habitat.
As the human population expanded and greater tracts of land were used for industry and housing, these natural nesting sites were greatly reduced, leaving the bluebirds with fewer suitable nesting sites to choose from. This, conservationists believe, resulted in fewer successful breeding pairs each year which reduced their population.
2.) The introduction of non-native species.
Most notably, the house sparrow, commonly known as HOSP, were introduced from Europe in the early 20th century. Well intentioned people introduced these birds as a way to control insects. The unintended consequences on the bluebird have been devastating according to most bluebird conservationists.
House sparrows are very aggressive. They are also cavity nesting birds. They will dominate the more timid bluebird, taking over bluebird nest sites, destroying existing nest sites including any eggs or baby bluebirds in them, and fiercely protecting the areas around their nests. They reproduce quickly and are very hardy. The rapid expansion and population growth of this introduced species has made it very difficult for bluebirds to compete and survive. Many bluebird conservationists even trap and exterminate these birds, which are considered pests. Controlling and dealing with the house sparrow is indeed a major part of the bluebird monitor’s activities.
3.) The use of DDT and other pesticides.
While the first two causes mentioned above are almost universally agreed by bluebird conservationists, the effect of DDT on bluebird populations is debated. However, the impact of DDT on wild birds in general is widely recognized and we believe that bluebirds were likely also negatively affected by the use of DDT. It is also notable that many farmers may have replaced their efforts of attracting bluebirds to help control insects with the use of DDT, thereby also reducing nest sites, creating a kind of “double whammy” for the bluebird.
DDT began to be used in the 1940’s, and its devastating impact on wild birds was the inspiration for Rachel Carson’s landmark book Silent Spring. Fortunately, the use of DDT and most other harmful pesticides has been eliminated and this is no longer a major problem for the bluebirds.
The Bluebird’s Triumphant Return !
Thanks to the efforts of bluebird conservationists as well as more general wildlife preservation activities, the North American Bluebird is coming back with a vengeance. Bluebird populations are on the rise again in most areas of North America with a few exceptions.
Starting in the mid-1900’s, bluebird conservation pioneers began promoting the use and maintenance of man-made bluebird nest boxes. The idea was to increase suitable nesting sites for bluebirds in the hope that their population would increase. This grass-roots conservation effort gained steam in the 1960’s through today. Now there are thousands of actively monitored bluebird nest boxes throughout the continent. The conservation effort has been a huge success, and as a result, bluebirds are again becoming a common site along our back roads, forest meadows and pasturelands.
Few wildlife conservation efforts are as inspiring as the bluebird recovery for one reason: Its success requires the involvement and commitment of citizen conservationists. The bluebird has been brought back through the efforts of people like you. Everyday citizens who just can’t stand the thought of not having the bluebird of happiness around, who have mobilized in numbers, and nursed the bluebird back to health.
But, we cannot get complacent. The problem is that the two most serious causes of bluebird decline are still prevalent and probably cannot be reversed. House sparrows are here to stay. And, we lack the ability to bring back the abundance of natural nest sites for bluebirds. Therefore, the bluebirds’ future success depends on our continued conservation efforts.
We cannot neglect our bluebird boxes. We must continue to increase the number of actively monitored bluebird boxes and bluebird trails. As bluebirds continue to recover, we must recognize that their recovery is dependent on our continued efforts indefinitely.
The Three Bluebird Subspecies
There are three subspecies of bluebirds:
1.) The Eastern Bluebird
As the above map indicates, the Eastern Bluebird has a vast range that includes the entire eastern half of the United States and much of Southeast Canada. The bird in the above picture is a male Eastern Bluebird. The Easterns have a blue back, white under-belly and a red breast that extends all the way up to the beak. The extension of the red coloring up to the beak is the easiest way to distinguish the Eastern from the very similarly colored Western Bluebird. The red breast of the Western Bluebird does not extend all the way up to the beak. Instead, the Western, has a "collar" of blue around its neck below the beak.
Although all three bluebird species declined decades ago before starting their recovery, the Eastern Bluebird was hit the hardest. The reason is primarily just because their range covers areas of greater, and longer, human population and industry. The other two bluebird sub-species still enjoy vast stretches of wilderness and ranchland. Much of the Eastern Bluebird range is heavily peopled. There is still an abundance of habitat for Eastern Bluebirds (think of the beautiful pasturelands of Kentucky, or the expansive farmlands of Iowa). But, in general, there is more development and more industry in the Eastern Bluebird’s habitat.
Fortunately, the conservation efforts to revive the bluebirds have been equally focused on the Easterns. The majority of bluebird conservation efforts occur within the Eastern Bluebird’s range.
2.) The Western Bluebird
The counterpart to the Eastern Bluebird, the Western Bluebird ranges over much of North America’s West. Unlike the range of the Easterns, the Westerns have vast areas of open land to call home, ranging from beautiful mountain meadows in the Rockies, to vast sagebrush expanses in the high desert, to the inter-mountain western farmlands of Southern Idaho or Central California.
The Western Bluebird is most easily distinguished from the Eastern by the presence of his blue "collar" that runs above his red breast but below his beak. The red breast of the Eastern Bluebird extends all the way up to the beak.
The Western Bluebird, although threatened by the same problems facing all bluebirds, were not impacted as much as the Easterns. However, there has also been less conservation focus on the Westerns, and as our human population continues to migrate west, the threats to the Westerns will increase. Indeed, California is one place where bluebird populations are declining and not increasing. Conservation of Western Bluebirds, therefore, is no less important than the continued conservation of the Easterns.
3.) Mountain Bluebirds
Perhaps the most mythical of the three bluebird subspecies, the Mountain Bluebird is found primarily in mountainous areas of the West, in some of our most beautiful natural settings. It's range overlaps much of the range of the Western Bluebird in the lower 48 states. But, as you can tell from the map above, the Mountain Bluebird ranges very far north through Western Canada and well into the interior of Alaska.
Recently, I was backpacking high in the Southern Rockies of Colorado, way up at 12,000 feet, when I was stopped in my tracks by the site of a pair of brilliant blue Mountain Bluebirds skimming the alpine tundra. Their appearance was breathtaking against the expanse of alpine wildflowers.
Many bluebird conservationists in the West, including us here at Backroads Bluebird Boxes, see a combination of both Mountain and Western Bluebirds utilizing their boxes.
Mountain Bluebirds are easily distinguished from the other two sub-species in that they are entirely blue. They have no red on them. They can range from a light sky-blue to a deep, purplish color. The sight of a Mountain Bluebird fluttering about beneath the high peaks of the Rockies is always a treat.
Like the Western Bluebird, the Mountain Bluebird was spared much of the decline that the Easterns suffered. But, also like the Westerns, the threats to the Mountain Bluebirds are no less serious as more people and more industry moves into their habitat. There are also far fewer people involved in bluebird conservation within the Mountain Bluebird range.
