| Bluebirds |
Gary
A. Beluzo |
| Jan
04, 2005 11:31 PST |
Robie,
This is off track but it is at least tangentially related to
trees and
forests. The other day Bob Leverett and I saw a flock of
bluebirds along
the Westfield River near the Westfield/Russell line. Is that
unusual for
this time of year? My understanding was that bluebirds were
insectivorous
and went south for the winter?
Gary
|
| RE:
Trouble in the Forests |
edward
coyle |
| Jan
04, 2005 12:24 PST |
Gary,
Bluebirds are generally insectivorous, but in winter they depend
mostly on
fruits. They do migrate south from their breeding range which
goes well into
Canada. Many go no further than southern NY,PA.
Ed
|
| RE:
Trouble in the Forests |
wad-@comcast.net |
| Jan
04, 2005 13:11 PST |
If
you ever want to see where the robins go in winter, come to SE
Pa! We have many 50+ year old American hollies on the property,
and there are literally hundreds of robins here all winter
snacking away. A positive result is the appearance of many new
hollies in the woods in the vicinity. We have a bunch of
bluebirds in the area during their season, I think they go a
little further south than here for winter.
Scott
|
| bluebirds |
robie
hubley |
| Jan
04, 2005 15:46 PST |
Gary,
They're great to see, anyway. Bluebirds declined but have been
recovering
since the mid-1980s. In addition to the usual places where we
find
bluebirds nesting, they like dead trees in beaver swamps. Maybe
they've
been helped by the recovery of beavers.
Like their relatives robins, bluebirds shift to fruit for the
winter. Some
bluebirds and robins migrate no farther south than to get out of
the snow
or find berries for winter food.
Sam [Sorry, I hit a wring key and sent the incomplete message
off into the
sunset, but to continue...] Sam Eliot, the dean of Connecticut
Valley
birders, says most bluebirds depart early in November but some
remain in
sheltered places throughout mild winters. Some early return
migrants
arrive in February, making it hard to know then which are
winter-overs and
which are early returns.
Yours are late though, I'd say.
Thank you for the observation.
Robie
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