Hi MNeters, Tami and Jeanie, Your comments on Eastern Bluebird scarcity this year, unfortunately confirms the severity of the cold spell which gripped us, well into the south, for nearly 2 weeks. Carolina wrens suffered too. They are still around but in pockets.
I have reports of Bluebird casualties where they were found dead in groups of up to 9 after being frozen overnight. In my area, we had up to 20 foraging and after the cold spell - none. The intensity of the cold combined with ice and snow effectively sealed off any ability to forage and find food.The unrelenting cold froze untold thousands of Bluebirds. In Missouri, I have found very few breeding pairs and our pairs come from further south too. Sadly, I would doubt that any wave of migrant bluebirds is going to arrive now as you seem to know precisely when the birds need to be there. My worries are that STARLINGS- which seem to have survived just fine- will further harm our breeding bluebirds and cause them to abandon nests…exactly as you describe. It may come to working on Bluebird Trails like those who did this before. Tim Timothy Barksdale Timothy dot barksdale at gmail.com Missouri Production address: Birdman Adventures LLC 7903 Mo State Rt 94 Mokane, MO 65059 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
