The first time that I learned about Bluebird via Google Lens was on 2020-05-19 when I visited LA Arboretum. Since then I have seen Bluebirds around my neighborhood and Peck Road Park. Bluebirds species include: Eastern, Western, and Mountain Bluebird. It is also interested to learn that Bluebirds convey good messages such as happiness, pleasure, prosperity, or good health. Judging from the distribution of different species, all I saw should be Western Bluebirds.
我第一次注意到藍鴝是在2020-05-19在植物園裏看到的。之後居然在家附近及公園也見到好幾次。有三種藍鴝: 東藍鴝、西藍鴝及山藍鴝。我還看到有人說藍鴝能給人帶來快樂、歡喜、財富及健康。是真是假不能驗證，就姑且信之吧。從不同種類的分佈地來看，我看到的應該都是西藍鴝。
On June 4, 2020, I saw three photographers patiently waiting and observing birds by a tree. Out of curiosity and eagerness of learning I asked them what are they watching/taking pictures. They told me there is a nest in the hole in the tree trunk. Mommy and daddy birds are taking turns to seek the food and feed three babies inside. At the time I did not know these conversations inspiring me to start a blog and later I had to check out this spot when I visited the park. I went back to the park on 2020.06.07. I only have point and shoot camera. With the new strategy (using the video recording) and editing efforts, I get some decent pictures. Pictures below are frames extracted from the video. (In 2022, for some unknown reason, this tree was cut down. I felt a little bit sad when I thought that I would no longer be able to see the bluebirds that come back here every year.)
2020.06.04 我看到三個攝影師很有耐心的在一棵樹旁等待及觀察，基於好奇心及好學力的驅使，我問他們在看什麼，其中一人告訴我，樹幹中有個鳥巢，裏面有三隻幼鳥，鳥爸媽正輪流去覓食來餵它們，誰知道這一番對話成了促使我寫部落格的動力之一，日後來這個公園這棵樹也成了我必察看之處。我只有傻瓜相機，經過一些失敗經驗，我在 2020.06.07 回到公園，決定除了照相外，也錄影。以下照片是從錄相中截取下來的。(2022年不知道為什麼，這棵樹被砍掉了，想到不能再看到每年回來這裡的西藍鴝覺得有些失落。)
Sometimes I am lucky to get a couple of unexpected shots. I was focusing on taking pictures of the mother bird feeding the babies. Unexpectedly I also got a shot of daddy bird flying by. I was startled a little bit. I guessed he tried to gently warm me to keep safe distance from their nest.
有時候我很幸運的會捕捉到意想不到的畫面。這天當我很專心照母鳥餵洞穴中的小鳥時，不料卻也照到公鳥飛過來的照片，其實公鳥飛過來時嚇了我一跳，或許它在提醒我不要太接近它們的窩。
You can see parent’s love clearly through these birds’ behavior. I see them flying here and there to seek the worms then bringing them back to the babies. I see them guard their nest vigilantly. I am reminded that my parents have done the same for me. Great is the unconditional love.
從這些西藍鴝的行為上我看到了父母親對孩子的愛。它們飛來飛去覓食來餵養雛鳥，又小心翼翼的看衛它們的家巢。讓我想起我的父母也是這樣呵護我長大的。這種無條件的愛是最偉大的。
Notes 筆記
- The western bluebird is a small North American thrush.
- Male Western Bluebirds are shiny blue above with rust-orange extending from a vest on the breast onto the upper back. Females are gray-buff with a pale orange wash on the breast and blue tints to the wings and tail. The throat is blue in males and gray-buff in females, and the lower belly is whitish.
- Their calling consists of the mating songs which sound like “cheer,” “chur-chur,” and “chup.” This helps male western bluebirds find the females easily in condensed forest. The males use these calls to tell competing males that the territory belongs to them.
- The western bluebird has been displaced from its natural habitat by the felling of trees; however it has adapted to coniferous forests, farmlands, semi-open terrain, and desert to survive.
- The year-round range includes California, the southern Rocky Mountains, Arizona, and New Mexico in the United States, and as far south as the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz in Mexico. The summer breeding range extends as far north as the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Montana. Northern birds can migrate to the southern parts of the range; southern birds are often permanent residents.
- The western bluebird nests in cavities or in nest boxes, competing with tree swallows, house sparrows, and European starlings for natural nesting locations. Because of the high level of competition, house sparrows often attack western bluebirds for their nests.
- The western bluebirds’ beaks are too weak and small to dig out their own holes, so they rely on woodpeckers to make their nest sites for them.
- These birds are highly social, and usually feed in flocks during the non-breeding season. During summer Western Bluebirds eat mainly insects; in winter they switch to eating mostly fruits and seeds, supplemented with insects. They typically catch ground-dwelling insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, ants, wasps, as well as eating spiders and snails.
- 西藍鴝是北美的小畫眉。
- 雄性西藍鴝的上身是亮藍色，前胸呈鐵鏽橙色一直延伸到上背部。雌性是灰黃色有淡橙色胸部，翅膀和尾巴是藍色。雄性的喉嚨是藍色，雌性是淺黃色，下腹部是白色。
- 它們的叫聲聽起來像“歡呼”，“ chur-chur”和“ chup”的混合曲。 這有助於雄性西藍鴝在茂密的森林中輕鬆的找到雌鳥，雄鳥並使用這些叫聲告訴競爭的雄鳥這地盤是屬於它的。
- 西藍鴝因樹木被砍伐而從自然棲息地中流離失所。 但是為了能生存，它能適應在針葉林、農田、半開闊地帶和沙漠中過活。
- 整年的活動範圍包括美國的加州，南部的落基山脈，亞利桑那州和新墨西哥州，以及最南端的墨西哥的瓦哈卡州和韋拉克魯斯州。夏季繁殖範圍向北延伸到西北太平洋，不列顛哥倫比亞省和蒙大拿州。在北部的鳥可以遷徙到南部。而南部的鳥通常是留鳥。
- 西藍鴝在洞或巢箱中築巢，與雙色樹燕、家麻雀和紫翅椋鳥爭奪自然築巢的位置。由於競爭激烈，家麻雀經常攻擊西藍鴝的巢。
- 西藍鴝的喙太弱小，無法挖出自己的洞，因此它們常靠啄木鳥為它們築巢。
- 這些鳥是群居的動物，通常在非繁殖季節成群結隊覓食。夏季西藍鴝主要以昆蟲為食。冬季它們轉而吃水果和種子，並附加昆蟲。它們通常捕食在地面的昆蟲，例如蝗蟲、毛蟲、甲蟲、螞蟻、黃蜂，並吃蜘蛛和蝸牛。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Western bluebird
- All about birds: Western Bluebird
- Audubon: Western Bluebird
Birds Posts 鳥的帖子