Article about PSBRP and Western and Mountain Bluebirds

In February, I gave a presentation to the Clear Creek Task Force about Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project, our mission and values, and talked about Western and Mountain Bluebirds.  Afterwards, I was asked to write an article for their newsletter about Bluebirds and our organization.  Below is the aticle that I wrote for them.  I thought I would go ahead and post this to our blog for others to read as well.  Enjoy!--Susan Ford

Where have all the Bluebirds gone?

Susan Ford

Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project

“Where have all the Bluebirds gone?”  This is a question that has been asked by many through the years, as our country has seen a slow but steady decline of all 3 bluebird species in the last 70 to 80 years.  The bluebird has long been a favorite icon in our culture, not only for it’s beautiful blue color, but also for it’s gentle disposition and beautiful melodic singing.  Through the years, people have looked to the bluebird as a symbol of hope, joy, and happiness, and no other bird has been mentioned more often in stories, poetry, songs, and movies as the bluebird.  From Henry David Thoreau’s knighting of the bluebird as “his most serene birdship” to Jan Peerce’s popular 1940s musical hit, “The Bluebird of Happiness”, it is no wonder that people have begun to notice their decline in population where once they were so abundant.  It is our hope that through the work of the Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project, a local non-profit organization located in Kitsap County, that we will be able to help bring the bluebirds back to the western Puget Sound region.

The decline of bluebird populations was first brought to the general public’s attention back in 1934 by an article written in the National Audubon Society magazine, “Bird Lore”, by a man by the name of Thomas E. Musselman.  In this article, Musselman warned that bluebird populations were declining throughout the United States, and that immediate action was needed to help reverse this trend.  He urged the general public to become involved in bluebird conservation through the building and establishment of local “bluebird trails” in their communities, so that bluebirds could once again begin to flourish.  Musselman stayed active in the bluebird movement and wrote a monthly column for Nature Society News called the “Bluebird Trail” until the late 1960s, when another concerned bluebirder by the name of Dr Lawrence Zeleny took over the writing of the article from Musselman.  Dr Zeleny was very active in bluebird conservation, and continued to write the

Dr Lawrence Zeleny,

 founder of NABS

monthly column for the Nature News Society for another 12 years.  Also during that time, Zeleny wrote and published the well known book “The Bluebird-How you can Help it’s Fight for Survival” in 1975, and later on, was the founder of the North American Bluebird Society.

Here in the State of Washington, the decline of bluebird populations was noted by many local birders and naturalists.  Many of these notes and writings were compiled into an article written in the early 2000s by Dr Fred Sharpe, a PhD student at Simon Fraser University.  In his article, Dr Sharpe quoted many writings from birders at the turn of the century, stating that in the late 1800s and early 1900s,  Kitsap County had large flocks of bluebirds who lived in the region year round.  But then, starting in the 1940s, a decline in populations began to be noted.  If you ask anyone today if they have seen a bluebird in Kitsap County, you will most likely be told no, and many people will not be sure what kind of bluebird you may be asking about—“Do you mean a scrub or steller’s jay perhaps?” they may ask.  But there are some very few lucky individuals who have been able to catch a glimpse of bluebirds here in Kitsap County.  The sightings are rare, but they do happen on occasion.

So by now, you are probably thinking, “So why has there been a decline in bluebird populations?  What is causing this?”  Though the years, the North American Bluebird Society and many grass roots bluebird organizations have studied what might be causing the decline, and they have come up with four common reasons why bluebirds are disappearing:  Introduction of non-native bird species, loss of bluebird habitat, insecticides, and a decrease in winter food supply.

Male House Sparrow

European Starling

There are two non-native bird species that have been a detriment to bluebird populations:  House sparrows and European starlings.  House sparrows were originally brought to the United States back in the 1850s to help control insect pests in farmer’s crops, but this quickly backfired on the farmers as the house sparrows multiplied, for the sparrows then started to destroy grain and fruit crops.  House sparrows are one of the bluebird’s worst enemies as they compete fiercely with bluebirds for nesting cavities, and will go as far as to kill adult and nestling bluebirds to take over nesting cavities.  European starlings are just as aggressive towards bluebirds.  Brought to the United States in 1890, a society in New York City thought it would be wonderful to have all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays nesting in Central Park.  A small handful of Starlings were brought to New York to be released in the Park, and it is believed that the current estimated population of 200 million starlings in the U.S. descended from this small group of birds in Central Park.  Starlings do a great amount of damage to crops every year and like House sparrows, will aggressively fight with bluebirds for appropriate nesting cavities and will kill if necessary.  With the bluebird’s naturally gentle disposition, you can imagine who usually wins in these battles.

Stokes Bluebird Book, 2010

The destruction of appropriate bluebird habitat is another reason for population decline, and this is usually due to rapid growth and urbanization.  Bluebirds are attracted to rural open spaces with low grass.  They will usually perch on nearby branches, wires, and fence posts to hunt for insects, which is their main source of food.  Bluebirds also are secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they use abandoned cavities or tree holes created by other birds and animals.  With increased urbanization and loss of open space, the number of available places for bluebirds to live and nest decreases drastically.  Removal of old decaying trees or snags decreases the number of appropriate nesting cavities for bluebirds, and with the small number of cavities available, they must compete fiercely with house sparrows and starlings for these spots.

Stokes Bluebird Book, 2010

As was mentioned earlier, insects are a bluebirds main source of food.  When insecticides are used, ingestion or contact with poisoned insects can kill a bluebird.  During the cold winter months, the number of available insects decreases, so bluebirds will turn to various wild berries for their food.  If there is a low number of berry bushes in the area, or the existing bushes have had their supply of berries eaten by starlings and other animals, bluebirds can have a difficult time finding food and can possibly perish during the cold winter months.

Bluebird monitor checking his boxes and recording data

So how can we help the bluebirds in our area?  It is our hope that through the Puget Sound Bluebird Recovery Project we will be able to help aid in the recovery of local Bluebirds through conservation, education, and research.  Starting this year, two community bluebird Trails will be established, monitored, and maintained at Clear Creek Park in Silverdale and a local Christmas Tree farm in Port Orchard.  These bluebird trails will consist of a number of nesting boxes, specifically made to house Western and Mountain Bluebirds.  Nest boxes will be evenly spaced out over a specific rural area that has been deemed appropriate bluebird habitat, and starting in the early Spring months of the bluebird’s breeding and nesting season, each bluebird trail will be monitored by a trained volunteer who will be in charge of that specific trail.  Nest boxes will be checked on and monitored on a regular basis throughout the bluebird nesting season (March-August) and detailed notes and information will be collected for each nest box’s activity.  Volunteers will also monitor the birds’ condition, health, and well being, and will provide needed nutritional supplements or protection from predators as needed.  Information gathered at the end of the season will be collected and given to various wildlife conservation groups and authorities like USGS Bird Banding Laboratory, Cornell University Nest Box Network, National Audubon Society, North American Bluebird Society, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.  It is hoped that over time, more bluebird trails can be erected

Bluebird with band on leg-Photo courtesy of Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project

and maintained throughout the Puget Sound region, and that in the process, a trained corps of volunteers will form to help monitor and care for these trails.  As bluebird populations increase in the area, it is hoped that we will be able to learn more about our local bluebirds through active bird banding projects.  This would be accomplished by having a licensed bird bander attach a uniquely numbered band around a bird’s leg so that the bird’s movements can be tracked locally or by other banders in the country.  Color banding projects would also give the general public an opportunity to become involved as  “citizen scientists” by recognizing the color sequence on a specific bird’s leg band and submitting this information to the organization. It is hoped that through these studies and banding projects, we will be able to learn more about local bluebirds and their migration patterns, and that these studies will give us vital information to help with the survival and conservation of these birds.

Berries in your yard help Bluebirds when insects are scarce

How you can you help Bluebirds?  Become involved!  If you live in a rural open space, consider saving your standing dead trees if they do not pose a hazard to you or your property.  These trees or “snags”, as they are often called, often contain holes that can provide natural nesting places for bluebirds as well as food and shelter for a variety of other native birds and animals.  Plant native berry bushes on your property such as dogwood, juniper, and mountain ash to provide berries for those cold winter months so birds have a good source of food to eat.  Volunteer—it is our hope that we will be establishing a corps of trained volunteers to help monitor and maintain bluebird trails.  Check out our web site for updates on volunteer opportunities.  Come to bluebird events—we hope to have many different bluebird events through the year.  Our next event is a community Nest Box Building Party on March 5^th where we are inviting the public to help construct bluebird nest boxes for use in our bluebird trails.  Check out our web site for more information on this event.  Donate--your monetary donations are always appreciated and will go directly to help the bluebirds.  We are in the process of filing for our 501c3 tax-exempt status, so all donations should be tax deductible for the 2011 tax year.  For more information about our organization, projects, and information on bluebirds, please visit our web site at www.puget soundbluebird.org to learn more how you can help, or email us at info@pugetsoundbluebird.org. Together, we can help bring bluebirds back to western Washington.