Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis

The Eastern Bluebird is moving west! Formerly, this bird kept its haunts east of the Mississippi River, but fire suppression and tree plantings have influenced a slow move to the west. Today in the USA, we can find these birds as far west as the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. These birds thrive in open country with few trees, especially if there are enough nest cavities available. Invasive species such as House Sparrows and European Starlings are a threat to the nesting success of bluebirds, as they are more aggressive than native birds who depend on woodpecker holes and other cavities.
Science recognises seven subspecies of Eastern Bluebirds:
- S. s. sialis breeds in eastern North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada south to Florida. They spend winters south of their breeding range, to Bermuda, northern Mexico, and Cuba.
- S. s. bermudensis lives in Bermuda.
- S. s. nidificans lives in Mexico’s mountains from Tamaulipas to central Veracruz.
- S. s. Fulva lives from south-central and southeastern Arizona, south through western Mexico.
- S. s. guatemalae lives in southern Mexico and northern Central America.
- S. s. meridionalis lives in Central America.
- S. s. caribaea lives on the east coast of Central America.
As of this writing, most of my meetings have been in New Mexico. Except for birds I met in Big Bend National Park, those I met in Texas were in the Guadalupe Mountains near the New Mexico border. The Guadalupe birds I met were part of a mixed flock that were predominantly Western Bluebirds, which made for some interesting side-by-side comparisons.

Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:22 10:49 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/320 |
File Name: D726217-EasternBlueBird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:22 8:35 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D726062-EasternBlueBird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:22 11:02 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: D726324-EasternBlueBird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:22 10:54 |
Location:
Rio Grande Nature Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/320 |
File Name: D726232-EasternBlueBird |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Bluebirds seemed to be feeding on insects, and split their time between the dormant orchard and the spent cornfield across the road. Corrales NM is a community a few miles north of Albuquerque, with several open fields where Sandhill Cranes have found reliable food supplied by local residents. Jerry and I spent a few hours getting aquainted with them on Wednesday. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:09 10:29 |
Location:
Corrales |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 7, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: EasternBlueBird_Z7X1582-Corrales_NM |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Bluebirds seemed to be feeding on insects, and split their time between the dormant orchard and the spent cornfield across the road. Corrales NM is a community a few miles north of Albuquerque, with several open fields where Sandhill Cranes have found reliable food supplied by local residents. Jerry and I spent a few hours getting aquainted with them on Wednesday. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:09 10:49 |
Location:
Corrales |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 7, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: EasternBlueBird_Z7X1672-Corrales_NM |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Bluebirds seemed to be feeding on insects, and split their time between the dormant orchard and the spent cornfield across the road. Corrales NM is a community a few miles north of Albuquerque, with several open fields where Sandhill Cranes have found reliable food supplied by local residents. Jerry and I spent a few hours getting aquainted with them on Wednesday. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:09 10:50 |
Location:
Corrales |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 7, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: EasternBlueBird_Z7X1685-Corrales_NM |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: Bluebirds seemed to be feeding on insects, and split their time between the dormant orchard and the spent cornfield across the road. Corrales NM is a community a few miles north of Albuquerque, with several open fields where Sandhill Cranes have found reliable food supplied by local residents. Jerry and I spent a few hours getting aquainted with them on Wednesday. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:09 10:50 |
Location:
Corrales |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 7, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: EasternBlueBird_Z7X1695-Corrales_NM |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: There proved to be a few Eastern Bluebirds among the multitudes of Westerns. The morning after I arrived, the birds found a temporary watering hole at Pine Springs Camp. The event at Guadalupe National Park was a memorable one for me. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:28 9:06 |
Location:
Pine Springs |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: EasternBluebird_D5X4145-GuadalupeMountain-TX |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: There proved to be a few Eastern Bluebirds among the multitudes of Westerns. The morning after I arrived, the birds found a temporary watering hole at Pine Springs Camp. The event at Guadalupe National Park was a memorable one for me. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:28 9:51 |
Location:
Pine Springs |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/800 |
File Name: EasternBluebird_D5X4732-GuadalupeMountain-TX |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: There proved to be a few Eastern Bluebirds among the multitudes of Westerns. The morning after I arrived, the birds found a temporary watering hole at Pine Springs Camp. The event at Guadalupe National Park was a memorable one for me. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:28 10:20 |
Location:
Pine Springs |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: EasternBluebird_D5X5515-GuadalupeMountain-TX |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: There was a mix of both Eastern and Western Bluebirds in camp. Cottonwood Camp is a primitive site eight miles from the end of the road at Santa Elena Canyon. I was lucky to book a night's stay and enjoy one of the birdiest sites in Big Bend National Park. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:03 10:31 |
Location:
Cottonwood Camp |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: EasternBluebird_D5X7467-CottonwoodCamp |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Eastern Bluebird(Sialia sialis) |
Description: There was a mix of both Eastern and Western Bluebirds in camp. Cottonwood Camp is a primitive site eight miles from the end of the road at Santa Elena Canyon. I was lucky to book a night's stay and enjoy one of the birdiest sites in Big Bend National Park. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:03 10:32 |
Location:
Cottonwood Camp |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: EasternBluebird_D5X7493-CottonwoodCamp |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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