Preservation Trust Counts up to 30 Western Bluebirds on San Juan Island
Posted June 18, 2021 at 5:00 am by Hayley Day
Contributed image/San Juan Island Preservation Trust. Volunteers band bluebirds.
From San Juan Island Preservation Trust
The weather has warmed up and bluebird season is upon us.
To date, we estimate the adult Western bluebird population on the island between 26-30 birds.
Western Bluebird – Contributed photo
Some birds are still nest building, others are on eggs, and fives clutches have already been banded, with some fledged already. We have a few pairs that have built nests but then departed for other locations, as well as a roaming band of solo males hoping at a chance at one of the breeding females.
New offspring
We have at least three unbanded birds in our population this year. These could be offspring from last year that came from a nest we did not discover, or possibly recruits from outside our population. In either case, it’s a positive sign and shows that our adult breeding bird count is never an absolute, just an index.
Off-island migrants
We have a breeding female here from Vancouver Island. She was hatched out on the island in the Cowichan Valley in 2019. She did not return to Vancouver Island in 2020, and we did not record her here, but it’s possible she was here on San Juan Island and may have produced some of those unbanded birds. We are glad to know she paid attention to the travel restrictions to Canada and is adding to our population here.
In addition to the Cowichan female, we also have a female here from the Joint Base Lewis-McChord population in South Puget Sound. Likely lured northward by a charismatic male, she is currently sitting on eggs in San Juan Valley.
All this mixing and matching is great. The birds are recreating historical migration routes, keeping genetics strong, and demonstrating that these North Puget Sound and Salish Sea Western bluebirds function as one large population, even when separated by great distances.
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Categories: Animals
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