Hello ScienceWorks friends!
Your bird of the month for August is the Western Bluebird. Bluebirds are familiar and beloved birds found across the United States. In Southern Oregon, they live in open spaces with scattered perches and can be seen year-round.

August can be a tricky time for bird identification. With breeding season over, most birds aren’t singing, and many are dispersing from their breeding territories, appearing in less predictable places. Juvenile birds add to the challenge, as they often look and sound different from their parents. Still, the extra difficulty brings opportunity — you may spot young birds in surprising places.

I was surprised to find a flock of mostly juvenile Western Bluebirds (hatched this spring) near the solar panels and pine trees in the southwest corner of ScienceWorks this month. I recorded a few last winter, but these are the first I’ve actually seen on the ScienceWorks grounds.

Bluebirds are famous for their striking blue and orange coloring, but only adult males display the bright blue plumage. Females are a more subtle cool gray with soft blue highlights. Juveniles are spotted across the chest and back. Bluebirds are thrushes — the same family as American Robins and Hermit Thrushes. Most thrushes have spots, but robins and bluebirds lose them as adults. The bright blue streaks in this guy’s wing are a preview of what’s to come when he molts into his adult feathers.

Like other thrushes, bluebirds feed on both fruit and insects. This adult male was plucking insects from the grass while the juveniles practiced hawking insects from the solar panels and pines. Purple stains on the panels suggest they’ve been feasting on blackberries too!

Bluebirds are charming little animals with their cute round eyes, cheery whistles and songs, bright colors, and social nature. Bluebirds nest in cavities, including bird houses, and are one of the few bird species where a breeding pair will sometimes have helpers — other bluebirds, often last year’s young, that assist in feeding the chicks. Outside of breeding season, they become more nomadic, forming foraging flocks from late summer until the next spring.

Hopefully, we’ll keep seeing Western Bluebirds at ScienceWorks for weeks to come. Look for them here, in oak savannahs, open parklands, mountain meadows, and other open spaces. With fall migration around the corner, stay tuned for more posts about the amazing birds of Southern Oregon. Happy birding!

And don't forget to add your own bird sightings to the ScienceWorks eBird Hotspot!