Conservation Guardians of Northwest Illinois
People and Bluebirds ~ At Last, a Good Match!
Perhaps no other bird owes its resurgence to humans more than bluebirds.
Once abundant throughout North America, these birds fell prey to habitat
loss and competition from European starlings and English house sparrows.
Bluebirds are cavity nesters and relied on holes in trees or holes
made by woodpeckers and other animals for nesting. As farming operations
grew and more trees were felled across the land, bluebird numbers
dwindled.
Thanks to 30 years of concerted efforts by people to offer man-made
housing to bluebirds, these birds have made a comeback. And what a
beautiful comeback it is! Eastern and western bluebirds are bright
blue with a reddish breast. Mountain bluebirds are sky blue. They
are petite birds and they love to feast on plump, juicy caterpillars
and fruit. They also heartily enjoy mealworms from a feeder!
We are fortunate to have eastern bluebirds in our area, and, in fact,
our county is one of the top counties in the state for number of bluebirds
fledged each year. Much of this success is due to the many dedicated
Guardian bluebirders who monitor trails of nest boxes.
If you have the correct bluebird habitat (including plenty of trees
and shrubs - bluebirds prefer insects and wild berries such as cherry,
mulberry and Virginia creeper), you can try to attract these gorgeous
birds by placing a bluebird nesting box on your property.
Attend our April 17th workshop on “All About Bluebirds”
for all the information you need. And if you’re already an experienced
bluebirder, you’re sure to enjoy our keynote speaker, Greg Beavers,
from the North American Bluebird Society, who will give a presentation
focusing on bluebird predators. See the article in this issue for
more details on the workshop.
— Julie Bruser
