Interesting discussion about bluebird winter flocks. I have lived in Ohio only about 12 years, but in this state I've never seen Eastern Bluebirds in winter flocks larger than about 10 or 15 birds. Farther south, such as in northern Florida and near the Gulf Coast, I've sometimes seen flocks of 20 to 30 Eastern Bluebirds. Sometimes they forage on the ground in mixed flocks with a few Pine Warblers, which makes for an interesting color combination. In these situations, presumably they're feeding on insects. In Ohio in winter they're not going to find enough insects to sustain a large flock, and they often concentrate in areas where there are many small fruits, such as poison ivy berries. Although I haven't seen any studies supporting this, I suspect that food availability is a factor limiting the size of winter flocks here. In the western U.S., where I lived and birded for many years, the largest flocks of Western Bluebirds in most areas seem to be of about 20 to 30 individuals, but there are exceptions. In my experience, Mountain Bluebirds often form larger concentrations. This is especially true in Arizona. There are places in the foothills of central Arizona where hillsides are covered by vast woodlands of junipers, and when the junipers have a heavy fruit crop in winter, fruit-eating birds can be numerous there. Major flocks of American Robins are often present, and many individual Townsend's Solitaires, but the bluebirds steal the show. Occasionally I've seen hundreds of Mountain Bluebirds and scores of Western Bluebirds swirling over the hillsides. The largest concentrations seem to consist of multiple smaller flocks -- i.e., we're seeing several flocks of dozens each, not one flock of hundreds -- but they're all in the same area at the same time. Again, the presence of an abundant food source appears to be the key to making these concentrations possible. It would be interesting to know if our native juniper in Ohio (eastern redcedar) ever has large enough fruit crops to attract big numbers of Eastern Bluebirds. Kenn Kaufman Oak Harbor, Ohio On Mon, Jan 8, 2018 at 11:27 AM, [log in to unmask] < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > I have had the same experiences as Jon. Usually 12 to 25 or so Eastern > Bluebirds. Also similar numbers with Mountain and Western Bluebirds on > frequent trips West. Now Eastern Bluebirds are visiting feeders and heated > birdbaths and spending more time foraging for insects in the woods. > I would be in awe to see such numbers. Especially if it were a sunny day > and their blue was flashing about like beacons. > Ohio Bluebird Society has their annual meeting in Columbus at GIAC on > February 24. Hope to see some of you there. > BestDarlene SillickPowell, Ohio(A bluebird nut) > Sent from my Verizon LG Smartphone > ------ Original message------From: Jon CefusDate: Mon, Jan 8, 2018 10:19 > AMTo: [log in to unmask];Cc: Subject:Re: [Ohio-birds] > Bluebird flocks in winter > In my limited experience so far the largest groups I’ve seen have been > 10-20 birds. During extreme cold, as we’ve recently experienced, they seem > to flock more to forage for food. > > Jon Cefus > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jan 8, 2018, at 10:02 AM, Ken Andrews wrote: > > > > This is a question for birders who live near or go birding in open > fields or farmland in the winter. Have you seen flocks of bluebirds? > > > > I have seen small groups in the Cuyahoga Valley in winter. I have seen > around ten together at once near Jaite where there are open areas of > fields. I have seen them in pairs in the spring and summer all along the > railroad tracks there. > > > > The reason I ask is that, my friend in the SF Bay area posted a photo of > Mountain Bluebirds. He said he saw well over 80 in one spot just on some > power lines. There were more in the fields below. (It was at s place called > Cedar Mountain Winery.) > > > > I read on the Cornell website that Eastern Bluebirds flock like this in > rural areas with large open fields in groups that could exceed 100. Has > anyone seen flocks with numbers like this in Ohio? > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > > Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/ > membership.php. > > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > > > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > > listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/ > membership.php. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/ > membership.php. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]