Bluebird Project 2020 Season Wrap-up

MALE WESTERN BLUEBIRD | KATHY FINHOLM

2020 is a year that most of us won’t forget. In a time of uncertainty and turmoil, however, there are lessons of resilience and nature’s imperviousness to the trials plaguing humanity.

Case in point: the Western bluebirds of San Juan Island, once extirpated, and now again regaining a tenuous toehold here in their historic northern breeding grounds. We’d like to share a few of the highlights of this year’s field activity…

• 30 adults were confirmed on SJI (this index number has increased since 2018, the first season after translocations ceased, when there were 23 adults counted).
• 15 breeding territories were established (up from 13 territories at end of 2018).
• 69 nestlings were banded (this number is holding about even).

BANDING AT RED MILL FARM PRESERVE | STAFF ARCHIVE

• Kathleen Foley Lewis (primary coordinator) and Genevieve Shank (lead of field operations) had to restrict field activity at the beginning of the season due to C-19. Fortunately, landowners and volunteers stepped up to contribute observations and pass along vital data during that period of time.
• Moving forward, we will continue to rely on community investment of time and enthusiasm for this project as we carry on with the post-translocation monitoring of the population.
• What WILL require continued vigilance—and what may make the biggest difference in whether these birds continue to persist on the landscape—is the dedication by private landowners to provide safe nesting locations.