I don’t remember seeing a Western Bluebird since I was a kid in Montana 60+ years ago.
1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
But two years ago today I photographed this male on the eastern slope of the Stansbury Mountains. He was among a small flock of other bluebirds, including at least one female, that was flitting along a rustic old fence line. When I first saw the blue at a distance I assumed they were the much more common Mountain Bluebirds but even at that distance it didn’t take long to notice the reddish breast that helps to distinguish the two species.
In Utah this species is listed as “sensitive” (declining population due to limited range or habitat) so photographing this bird was a huge treat for me. They’re slightly more common in southern Utah than they are up here in the north but until this experience I’d never seen one in the entire state.
To be honest I’d mostly forgotten about this sighting until last night when I was scrolling through my archives and came across my photos of him and seeing them raised my spirits a little. Birds have been extremely slow around here for months now but this was a reminder that spring is right around the corner and we never really know what pleasant surprises we’ll find out there if we just keep looking.
As I often say, “You never know unless you go”.
Ron
Note: There has been some discussion on Facebook about the possibility that this is an Eastern Bluebird instead of a Western. I was a little surprised its belly wasn’t more blue but it doesn’t have the orange-red throat or the bright white belly and undertail coverts of the Eastern and it would be way out of its range for an Eastern. I’m no expert but at this point I’m quite confident it’s a Western Bluebird.
Beautiful shot Ron!
Charlotte
What a beautiful bird. The combination of the blue and orange are spectacular.
Yes, we finally have a winter here in Utah. The snow brought the cold, but that’s ok as 50 degree days are just not normal in February.
Hope you are feeling better. It seems to be a long road to recovery.
Thanks, Alice. It certainly is.
Beautiful spot of bright blue for this white day! I love the light the detail of the feathers and the slope of the perch. Nice capture.
I hate culling! Between the 1700 shots of Snow Geese last weekend and over 2000 shots of American White pelicans from Farmington on Wednesday my memory card is full. I am spending the day in short burst deleting the unwanted so I have some room for an adventure tomorrow.
Just a quick comment about my camera, Wednesday I was having trouble with it focusing. I would have it in focus using the back button fallowing a moving target and while still holding the BB down depressing the shutter button for a photo the AF would re-focus causing a blurred image. I have not had this happen before. Very frustrating.
Agreed, April. Culling is no fun.
Wish I could help you with your camera problem but I’m not sure what might be causing it.
Western Bluebirds are cavity nesters. In the 1950s and 60s, housing developers in the San Francisco Bay Area felled old Valley and Blue Oaks that provided cavities for them and many other species. Populations plummeted. Nestbox programs have helped those populations recover, along with municipal regulations protecting “heritage” trees. Open Space Authorities and green belt zoning have also helped preserve the critical habitat requirements.
Lovely photo. We get a thrill seeing a MOBL in our area, WEBL being the default Bluebird.
Good to hear of their recovery in that area, Thomas.
I chose Campfire over Girl Scouts when I was in 1st grade because I’d rather be a Bluebird than a Brownie. Still feel the same way! 🙂
This is such a delightful way to spend my Saturday — seeing “your” birds, delighting over your prose, and reading the comments from the blomily (blog family). Happy sigh. 🙂
P.S. Your emojis don’t seem to be working — I included a bunch of happy faces!
You made me smile twice with that comment, Marty. Thanks twice.
I am no expert, but I have seen both Eastern and Western Bluebirds. Plus, I tend bluebird boxes and have Eastern Bluebirds that from time to time visit our Winterberry bushes in the winter.
Therefore, I am definitely in your camp that this is a Western Bluebird. Beautiful shot! Maybe you could nicely suggest they pick up a field guide and check out Eastern and Western Bluebirds.
I think they already have, Dick. 🙂
And here we are, ridiculously redundant again! What a glorious image! I haven’t yet seen bluebirds of any sort here, but I’m sure they’re out there somewhere and I look forward to getting one into my eyesight!
The cold front arrived here yesterday around 4:00 p.m. I’d gone to Kingman, and within about 15 minutes, the temps dropped 10 degrees down into the mid-40s, the winds kicked up significantly and it started snowing heavily. It even approached white-out conditions for about 30 seconds! I decided to stop at Chili’s for an adult beverage while that part of the storm passed onto Flagstaff and points east. The snow didn’t stick–the ground is far too warm for that–but it happened! LOL!
Hoping you have an OK day today.
Thanks for the good wishes, Laura.
I saw my first western bluebird a couple of months ago in Berkeley CA! It is a beautiful creature! I am so grateful for the diverse colors and shapes that millions of years of evolution has thrown at nature
Yes, that diversity is pretty neat, Nicole.
Beautiful image of a Western Bluebird Ron. Once again I learned something new from you… I had no idea they were not prevalent in your area of Utah! We have lots of them here, although I would say that I have noticed less over the years. Time to build some bluebird houses and put them in safe places away from people and snakes.
Your photo is a Western Bluebird for sure. Once there was an Eastern Bluebird by my home and all the birders were ecstatic about it, asking me to get photos of the small bird from far away — a challenge to say the least, however we did get some with a bright white spot on the breast to confirm it.
Wow, an Eastern in your area, Ed. I’ll bet that DID cause some excitement.
A lovely Saturday morning smile. Thanks!
🙂 back at you, Arwen!
Ron – Indeed a Western Bluebird and a beauty. Here in Prescott AZ they are as common as Ravens and Robins. Don’t care where you hike or go birding you are going to see plenty of them. I remember once taking a picture of at least ten of them crowded into one of our bird baths out back. We also have Mountain Bluebirds, but they generally start to appear out in the country maybe 30 miles or so traveling north.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Wow, never heard of that many Western Bluebirds concentrated like that, Everett.
First off beautiful picture as always … I’m so surprised. That we live 1 state apart and bluebirds are quite numerous here .. the kestrals actually hunt them .. as do the Marlins. For whatever reason the bluebirds aren’t as numerous this year same for horned larks who are permanent residence here….
Marina, Are you talking about Mountain Bluebirds? We have lots of them too but this one is a Western Bluebird.
Pretty bird for sure – they do a lot of bluebird boxes in the Highwood Mtn’s not far from here. We don’t generally see them in the yard here. Tho magnificent, I sure wouldn’t want to be dealing with your archives! 😉 Word has it some of the Salt Lake area got snow yesterday and roads were nasty…….
Yup, it snowed lightly nearly all day yesterday and we’ve got more coming in later today, Judy. Winter finally hit!
I’d assume your bluebird boxes are mostly for Mountain Bluebirds?
Probably tho we do get some western here also. Put them on fence posts and maintain them annually.
p.s. winter storm watch for the high line for a horrendous ground blizzard – 40 to 60 mph winds…….. 🙁
Yeah, I’ve been following that storm and previous ones in the Cut Bank/Browning/East Glacier area. It sounds horrendous. Many folks on the reservation are stranded in outlying areas without food, water, propane etc. Our family farm is actually on the reservation. Scary stuff.
Ron: I believe that is indeed a Western Bluebird. I am going by two things. First, my filed guides show that the Western Bluebird has a greenish patch on the back, while the Eastern Bluebird has a solid blue back. Secondly, we have Eastern Bluebirds nesting in our yard each year, and I have never seen a mature (red breasted) Eastern Bluebird with that greenish patch on the back. But a beautiful bird! Well shot.
Thanks, Richard. I believe it’s a Western too.
Scrolling through your Archives – now that must be a real challenge…
It is, Mark. And you don’t know the half of it… 🙂