For years, Eastern Bluebirds have eluded my cameras for the most part; I’ve had some opportunities to take a few documentary photos of Easterns, but even last year when I focused on finding and photographing Eastern Bluebirds for a few afternoons over a couple weeks, it was mostly a wash, although other birds filled the bluebird voids. I made the same effort 2 years ago to photograph Mountain Bluebirds at the eastern edge of their nesting range, in the Badlands of North Dakota, and found a little pocket of Mountain Bluebirds that provided a few nice photos that satiated that itch. It’s the kind of result what I expected with the Easterns, but I had no luck last year.
The other bluebirds in the world, in North America, are Western Bluebirds, and I’ve had pretty good luck photographing Westerns while working in southern California, on the edge of the San Bernadino Mountains, and while visiting the famous Grand Canyon in Arizona. Yet, as of the last issue of The Birding Wire, I really didn’t have a good photo of an Eastern Bluebird. But the timing was right to try again – try a little harder.
While on a bit of a schedule, I didn’t really have much extra time last Wednesday on my way to Fargo, but along the way, the most promising Eastern Bluebird location was just 2 miles off the interstate near Jamestown. So I took the turn and half-heartedly approached the James River Valley; half-heartedly because there was a 35mph wind blowing with gusts close to 50mph. Even if bluebirds were present, I figured they surely would be in a sheltered spot, likely out of sight.
Two years before, a similar focus on photographing Mountain Bluebirds provided a nice series of images from deep in the heart of the Badlands. Whenever possible, it’s nice to get action photos of birds (600mm zoom lens, f-7 aperture, 1/2000 shutter speed, 400 ISO).
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My first stop was near a couple nest boxes I was aware of, and almost immediately I saw some bluebird action. Indeed, a female and a male were perched in some low branches of the trees scattered in a meadow area. They were actually hunting, watching for bugs to move in the grass below them. Finding the pair was quick, surprising, and potentially exciting – time to give photographing a try.
I slowly walked a little closer, then a little closer. The bluebirds were immediately aware of me, and I took that into account, waiting until I saw they were catching insects again before moving into what seemed like a better position, still far enough away not to concern them. When on foot I like to let birds get used to me, try to have something between us to break up my outline. I watch to make sure they aren’t changing their behavior, or I back away.
I had the sun at my back, but the bluebirds were mostly sticking to shaded perches in low tree branches. They changed perches periodically, and continued flying to the ground when they sighted in insect or spider, sometimes hovering a moment before dropping into the grass to grab a bug. There were no food exchanges or real interactions between the pair, until they flew to one of the nest boxes. With the female perched on the roof, the male entered the nest box, reversed his course and hesitated a few moments with half his body sticking outside the entrance hole. That was the only time the bluebirds showed an interest in a nest box while I was there, but it was certainly promising behavior.
I spent about 20 minutes without much luck of getting a relatively close photo of either bluebird in open sunlight, and not wanting to get behind schedule I decided to break away. Now that I knew the situation, I would return under better, less windy conditions another day when I could focus on the bluebirds. Realistically I just wanted to check for bluebirds, not necessarily do any extended photography at that time.
As I walked to the side a few slow steps toward my auto, the male suddenly flew to a new perch at the end of a cable, basking in full sunlight as it looked for invertebrates below. I stopped in my tracks and slowly raised my camera to focus on the sparkling blue male. Would it hold its position? Yes! It stayed on the perch, leaned forward, moved back into an upright position, and even sang! Hooray, I had ample time to take photos, as many as I wanted, and when I realized I wasn’t going to get better photos that day, I carefully backed away, leaving the bluebird to continue its bug hunts without me – I would be back though.
I was really happy with the photos of the male Eastern Bluebird; they were the best photos of an Eastern Bluebird by far. But I was hoping to get more of a selection of good images now that I knew something of the behavior and approach options of these birds. But it became a waiting game for the wind to die down, combined with sunlight during mid-morning or late afternoon/early evening – not where I live, but an hour north-northwest.
Return Trip
I made a second pilgrimage to the James River bluebird location with the hope of getting a few more Eastern Bluebird photos Saturday morning. Although no bluebirds were in sight when I arrived, I slipped into position where I thought they might become active with the sun at my back, waiting and checking out other avian action. After about 10 minutes the pair arrived together, flying directly to the nest box they visited before. The female had a beak-full of grasses – nesting material – as she hung on the rim of the entrance hole. She entered the nest box as the male stood on the roof, reflecting beautiful blue color off his back and head in the full morning sunlight. But that was the best of the photo period of the day, and I was a bit far away, fighting shadows above the female’s position.
I spent the next 80 minutes wishing and hoping, but rarely getting a glance of the bluebirds. The female remained in the nest box, probably laying an egg, while the male stuck to the shadowed low branches of a variety of trees as it hunted insects and spiders. That’s the way it goes some days, but there were other birds too – Cedar Waxwings, Tree Swallows, Chipping Sparrows, a Black-capped Chickadee, American Robins, and Common Grackles – but they offered no photos ops either. Nonetheless, even though the glow of trying again wore thin, I’m sure I’ll follow through to add a few more Eastern Bluebird images to my files in coming days and weeks.
I’ll keep you posted, but thought it was important to include this aspect of my photo efforts to bring some more realism that may be overlooked in other photo articles. We all spend extra time in the field with hopes and wishes, sometimes fulfilled, often not. Even so, I managed some fine portraits of the male last Wednesday, and other photos should follow with the female and maybe even fledglings among the photo subjects. For now, I’m glad to share the beauty and variations of the only bluebirds in the world, North America’s 3 species – the Mountain, Western, and Eastern Bluebirds.
Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad
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