Male Mountain Bluebird

Summertime is starting to creep into the remote Owyhee Mountains of southwest Idaho. At sunset, one might see a “venue” of Turkey Vultures soaring on the last air currents of the day before settling down to roost for the night. Mornings are still relatively bereft of birdsong, but if one listens closely enough, they might be able to pick out the song of an early Black-throated Gray Warbler or Vesper Sparrow. More difficult still is the quiet, unassuming song of the Mountain Bluebird, which sings vigorously well before sunrise, but only for a short period. Once daybreak comes though, the spectacular sight that is the male Mountain Bluebird shines through above all else. These birds are truly spectacular, and I for one don’t think Idaho could have chosen a better state bird!

Male Mountain Bluebird. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

The North American Bluebird Society could not have chosen a better ambassador to represent the struggles of all secondary-cavity nesting birds. Fellow Bluebird Man producer Matthew Podolsky and myself spent last Wednesday night and Thursday filming in the Owyhee Mountains for the movie which we hope can inspire future generations of cavity-nesting-conservationists. We hope you don’t tire of seeing pictures of these sky-blue birds of the west. We know the subject of our film, Al Larson, hasn’t tired of it as he is entering his 36th year of bluebird nestbox monitoring!