The famous naturalist and writer, Henry David Thoreau, often referred to the Eastern bluebird as possessing “the color of the sky above.” During the autumn, bluebirds can often be seen feeding on berries and seeds in small migrating flocks, sometimes accompanied by goldfinches and sparrows. Against the backdrop of the fall colors, their blue color stands out brightly.

Since 1988, Metroparks has facilitated a cavity nesting bird box program for bluebird conservation. Over 100 boxes have been placed in eight Metroparks, which also attract other native cavity nesters such as house wrens, tree swallows, black-capped chickadees and tufted titmice.

This season, 23 volunteer bird monitors checked each box on a weekly to bi-weekly basis, recorded nesting data and cleaned out nests from the boxes each time a brood fledged.

With the efforts of the volunteers combined with successful habitat management, an amazing total of 616 young birds fledged from the boxes in the Metroparks this year – 315 of them eastern bluebirds! 

Photos: Baby bluebirds by Starr Semrau; adult bluebird by Shutterstock