Subject: Western Bluebirds
Date: Mar 15 14:28:29 2002
From: Mike Patterson - celata at pacifier.com


I think it might be worth pointing out that the bluebirds
that winter at a particular site may not be the same
individuals that summer there and the only way one could tell
is by some sort of color marking experiment...

Down here on the Columbia Estuary Western Bluebirds flock up
into groups in the winter. Rovering bands of bluebirds are most
conspicuous in the coastal lowlands where we have no known nest
sites in January and February. Nesting bluebirds are fairly
easy to find in coast range clearcuts in May-July and are
recorded annually on the Nicolai Mt BBS.

If I find a mob of bluebirds, I am inclined to call them a nomadic
winter flock (and around here at least nomadic is a more appropriate
descriptor than migrant). One or two poking around a snag...
returning breeders.


--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
celata at pacifier.com

http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html