Western Bluebird numbers are spiking because of widespread snow on upland
sites right now. The I-5 corridor is blissfully free of that snow. I
believe Westerns are migrating in nw Oregon at this time and have been
shunted downslope. I was marveling today at the solid historic absence of
bluebirds on Sauvie lsland, where habitat structure looks great. Likewise
they are absent from lowlands of Tualatin Valley. I saw them in the
Chehalem Hills this time of year when l did a raptor survey there. I have
seen them migrating and nesting in clearcuts near Hayward.
Why the mistletoe stops where it does? I would expect it to be
dispersed by birds. All manner of thrushes eat its fruit. Its northern
limit in Yamhill County is abrupt.
On Mon, Feb 18, 2019, 11:01 AM Bruce Newhouse <newhouse@xxxxxxx wrote:
A friend just reported seeing a flock of bluebirds in Eugene where he'd
never seen any close by. Is it my imagination, or are there a higher
than normal number of Western Bluebird and vagrant Mountain and Eastern
bluebird reports in the Willamette Valley?
Bruce Newhouse in Eugene
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