Hi -
Western Bluebirds use many different habitats through their large range. The
one common feature I see is habitat structure with raised perches and access to
the ground with low to no vegetation. In the Willamette Valley they do seem to
be tied to oaks. In the Coast Range they frequent clearcuts with retained
snags. In central Oregon they seem to prefer open pine forest. They are
regular and fairly common for example, at Cabin Lake GS and in the forest to
the west and north. In winter east of the Cascades both species range out into
the sagebrush, but sage habitat does not provide cavities.
Wayne
On 1/19/2017 8:07:53 AM, Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi all,
Although Western Bluebirds might be unusual in residential areas in
Newport and along the coast, they've been regular in residential
neighborhoods of Corvallis going back at least back 17 years to 1999,
when I first took up the local Audubon field notes.
During winter they're most often in neighborhoods that have retained
older Garry (Oregon white) oaks with mistletoe. The neighborhood west of
Reser Stadium is a regular location. There are some tremendous old oaks
(recognized as "heritage" trees) around the OSU veterinary hospital, and
along Oak Creek (which was not named that by accident), between there
and the OSU fairgrounds. Chip Ross Park, Owens Farm Open Space (next to
the hospital) and the Sunset Park neighborhood also seem to have them
regularly. Lately I've been getting reports from around the Co-op in
south Corvallis.
The town of Adair Village also usually has them, in and around Adair
County Park, plus in the "downtown" north of city hall (though that was
before a couple of big oaks got cut down to make way for the latest
venture to make AV something more than a bedroom community).
They've also been regular in the rural-residential areas south of
Dallas. I remember working the Dallas CBC with John Lundsten in the late
1990s, and stopping to scan mistletoe clumps. As John commented in his
usual understated fashion, "In order to see bluebirds, you need to look
for them." They can be surprisingly inconspicuous while feeding in that
situation.
Jeff Gilligan commented, "As I understand it, until sometime after 1940
bluebirds nested in residential Portland." Gabrielson and Jewett (1940)
stated, "The Western Bluebird is a permanent resident and breeder in
western Oregon, where it vies with the robin for first rank as a
dooryard bird."
I suspect that what we're seeing now when we see bluebirds in "new"
places is the result of their ongoing recovery, aided significantly by
the "Bluebird Trails" project that was spearheaded in the Corvallis area
by Elsie Eltzroth, and continues thanks to the efforts of Raylene Gordin
and many other volunteers.
There is an ongoing effort to help Western Bluebirds return to places
farther north in their historic range in the Garry oak ecosystem, for
example this project:
http://sjpt.org/places-projects/stewardship-projects/western-bluebird-project/
in the San Juan Islands.
Happy bluebirding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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