Wandered N. Mason County again this morning in hopes of relocating the
western bluebirds from a week ago. I found them in the same area (deLorme,
page 78, D-1) on Holly-Dewatto Road about 0.8 miles south of Bear
Creek-Dewatto Road. They quickly came when I played their call on my car
CD.

There is a mature male, an immature male and two females in the group. They
initially perched atop a tall old stump (about 15ft tall) and the mature
male tried mating with a female. They were scared off by a passing car but
quickly came back when I replayed their call. One bird alit on the ground
and quickly ate a large worm while the others flitted in some maple sprouts.
They all came within 20 ft of my car and they tried to figure out who the
interloper was (it pays to wear blue when hunting bluebirds). They came in
close enough to allow great photos.

Seeing the mating behavior makes me wonder if they have a nest hole
somewhere on the edge of the clearcut which is the direction from which they
came when I first played their call.

Happy birding......

Mary Hrudkaj
hrudkajm at hotmail.com
N. Mason County