On our walk at a local park this morning, my wife and I encountered four mountain bluebirds, foraging along a fence line. They have returned from the Desert Southwest, where they winter, and are on their way to the High Country.
Throughout the warmer months, they will occupy wooded meadows, from the ponderosa parklands of the foothills to the alpine timberline. Nests are placed in tree cavities, rock crevices or man-made structures and these attractive songbirds will feast on a wide variety of insects and berries.
Among the more highly sought species by birders from the Eastern U.S., mountain bluebirds are both common and cooperative, seemingly undisturbed by human activity. Nevertheless, they remain beautiful symbols of Western mountain wilderness.
