Eastern Bluebirds: A Comeback Story
Though new to the farm, and a mere two weeks old, with outstretched wings flapping fiercely and beak fully extended, wailing at the top of his lungs, the baby bluebird exudes a commanding presence. He is eagerly waiting for his dad to feed him. Bugs, fruit, dried mealworms, any of these will do. He stands resolutely and in his eyes there is a look of shear determination - to eat, to survive, to live, and to thrive. He is part of the next generation of eastern bluebirds and behind his persistence is a remarkable conservation success story.
The US population of eastern bluebirds was once decimated. Declining numbers throughout the late 1800’s and twentieth century culminated an estimated 90% drop in the eastern bluebird population. Loss of habitat and nest cavities, snag (dead tree) removal, an increase of house cats, pesticide use, weather changes and the introduction of the House Sparrow and the European Starling to the United States were all contributing factors. House sparrows were brought to America from Europe to help stop insect infestations in Brooklyn and New York City. They successfully accomplished their mission and today continue to curb insect populations in cities and suburbs. However, their populations increased and spread into the ideal terrain of eastern bluebirds, which prefer open habitats, such as farms, forest edges, and parks. Farmers hoped that the house sparrows would help by preying on pests plaguing the crops. While they did serve that purpose, sparrows were more aggressive than bluebirds and began outcompeting them for nest cavities, leaving bluebirds with fewer places to nest. With less available nests, the population of bluebirds plummeted.
With fewer of these vibrant royal blue songbirds around, the community took notice and a grassroots conservation movement began in the 1960’s. Eastern bluebirds are secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they do not create their own tree cavities and instead rely on abandoned cavities created by other birds, such as woodpeckers, according to the American Bird Conservancy. To help provide nest cavities for bluebirds, people installed thousands of bluebird nest boxes across the country. In 1978, the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) was formed by citizen scientists and birders. They optimized bluebird boxes, set up a network of trails to put up boxes, educated the public and trained volunteers. The result was an incredible bluebird come back. The bluebird population rebounded and escaped extinction. According to statistics from the Breeding Bird Survey, since 1966 the bluebird population has increased about 2.4% each year and the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Counts from 1980 to 2004 reveal a three-fold increase in bluebird population.
Recent trends suggest that the population in North America increased by 11% over the past ten years (Pardieck et al. 2018) and the eastern bluebird is a species of “Least Concern” on the The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with a global population estimated at 23 million mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2019).
While the eastern bluebird’s population is stable today, it could still use your help. Homeowners with a spacious yard that is fairly open and free of dense vegetation may want to consider setting up a nesting box. Nesting boxes need to be specially designed to support the proper bluebird breeding conditions and help mitigate the biggest threats to bluebird survival. Refer to the Bluebird’s Society Nesting Box Guide to learn what nesting box is best for your region.
The eastern bluebird's historic comeback is a conservation success. Thanks to people who stepped in to support the bluebirds with nesting boxes and trails, their population came back from the edge of extinction. Today new baby bluebirds across the country continue to be born and have their chance at life on this extraordinary planet.
