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Juvenile Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

Published on Project Noah
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37.8716, -122.273

Field Notes

Description:

Photographed at our neighborhood park, San Pablo Park, in Berkeley, CA.

Habitat:

Western Bluebird breeding habitat is semi-open country, excluding desert areas. The year round range includes California, southern Rocky Mountains, Arizona, and New Mexico in the U.S., and as far south as the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz in Mexico. The summer breeding range extends as far north as the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Montana. Northern birds can migrate to the southern parts of the range; southern birds are often permanent residents.

Reference Links:

Western Bluebird

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (21)
Ashish
Third picture is very ideal..!!
MelanieHofmann
I have my friend Rusty who lives around the corner to thank for introducing me to the bluebirds in our local park. Thanks to all for your comments!
NicoleB
Awesome photos of this beautiful birdie!
Yasser
Hey Melanie, it was such a cool little fact I came across when looking for interesting tidbits about these birds. Another one was that genetic studies showed "45% of nests had young that were not fathered by the defending male" ...so fascinating! You can read all these facts and more at Cornell's All About Birds site. Great shots and welcome to Project Noah :)
MelanieHofmann
I have never seen a Violet-green swallow around here! There are tree and barn swallows nearby, but I've never seen one at this park in Berkeley. I looked them up. Beautiful birds! I have been practicing for a couple years on photographing hummingbirds, so capturing a bluebird in flight was not too hard.
Yasser
Spotting of the Day! "This juvenile Western Bluebird might have a Swallow to thank for its health and safety as Violet-green Swallows have been observed feeding and defending nests of Western Bluebirds." http://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/103258682124546050 http://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/posts/257276717623843
InannaBintAli
You must have quick reflexes to capture such a clear image of a bird in flight.
MelanieHofmann
I have a fine arts background in textiles (hand painted and printed fabrics mostly) and picked up photography about 2.5 years ago. I got into birds via my camera and am still learning to ID them. I have a couple of neighbors who are avid birders, so that helps with the ID factor. One of them put up a nesting box in the park when the City cut down the limb that they used to nest in. I have some nice albums on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/melanie.hofmann
ceherzog
Fantastic shots...may I assume you are a birder and obviously a photographer.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
WILD Cities: Urban Biodiversity
Mission
Birds of the World
Mission
2011 Best Wildlife Photo

Tags

Photographed
PublishedAugust 15, 2011

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