The bluebird in Quebec

During the 1996 season, the pendulum was hung on a bluebird nest box for the very first time. Here is the first photo taken by Paul Favreau. We wish to thank Mr. Denis Gamache, who made those first experiments with the pendulum possible.

For more information about the bluebird, you may contact

HIRONBEC

or write to the following address:

DENIS GAMACHE

278 BLANCHE D'HABERVILLE

ST-JEAN-PORT-JOLI

GOR 3GO

Bluebirds! Who would not want to see them nesting in their yard? But you still have to meet all of their requirements. Bluebirds need wide open spaces, and the surroundings of our houses hardly suit them.

They are more easily found in the countryside, although large orchards seem to suit them perfectly.

Not so long ago, they were said to be on the verge of disappearing. Today, their presence is almost familiar in open areas. In St-Jean-Port-Joli, for example, under the guidance of Denis Gamache, a group of enthusiasts devotes a remarkable amount of attention to them. Every spring, hundreds of nest boxes are made available to the bluebirds. Let us hope that such initiatives multiply throughout Quebec. Is that not, in the end, the only way to ensure their survival?

The male is recognizable by his azure blue plumage on the head, the back, the wings and the tail. The female has the same colours, but duller.

Both the male and the female have a brick red throat and breast and a white belly. The young have a greyish brown head and back, while the tail and wings are dull blue; the belly is whitish, marked with brown streaks and spots.

Adults and young alike have a black bill and black legs. The bluebird belongs to the same family as the thrushes, and its cousin is the American robin.

In summer, the bluebird is insectivorous: it feeds on larvae, caterpillars, spiders and dragonflies. The basis of its diet is crickets and grasshoppers. At the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall, it becomes frugivorous. Its diet is then made up mostly of the fruit of the serviceberry, the mountain ash and the elderberry. It does not turn down blueberries and cherries either.

Burned-over areas are habitats frequented by the bluebird because of the very open setting, the absence of vegetation on the ground and the presence of many perches. This in fact corresponds to the original habitat of this bird.

It is found in open country wherever the herbaceous vegetation is neither too dense nor too tall. Mainly in orchards and fields where the fences are lined with trees and fruit-bearing shrubs of all kinds. The bluebird is also found in other habitats, such as gardens, landscaped grounds, woodland edges, roadsides, woodlots, parks, golf courses and cemeteries.

In the MRC LISLET area, 100 km east of Quebec City, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, the bluebird arrives at the beginning of May. If spring comes early, there is a possibility of two broods. If the weather is colder, the bluebird will nest around the third or fourth week of May, or even in early June. In that case, only one brood can be expected.

The nest is built with dry hay, twigs and sometimes pine needles.

The eggs are pale blue, sometimes white. There are 4 or 5 of them for a first brood and 3 or 4 for a second.