Photo from BYN customer Jodi Hewitt.
The Bluebird Resurgence is On, Thanks to Conservation Efforts!
There is much good news about Bluebirds and their resurgence. We agree with Julie Zickefoose in her phenomenal book, The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds. She writes, “When the long term decline of bluebirds became evident in the 1960’s, the nationwide move to provide housing for them was the largest single-species conservation effort ever launched.” ( This is a truly gorgeous book… If you haven’t discovered Julie’s work, based on forty years of keen observation and study, you are in for a treat!)
Local Hero with a National Mission: Preserve Our Bluebirds
We are all deeply indebted to Dr. Lawrence Zeleny, who made Bluebirds’ plight known nationwide through his studies and writings. In particular, The Bluebird: How You Can Help Its Fight for Survival which sadly, is currently out of print but well worth seeking out secondhand. Also, we’d like to share our appreciation for national and local outreach organizations such as the 
North American Bluebird Society and it’s more recent offshoot, 
The Maryland Bluebird Society are dedicated to the continued efforts to educate new generations to continue protecting this very special bird.
Having mentored Maryland Bluebirders for 24 Bluebird seasons, I was thrilled to be invited to be a founding board member of The Maryland Bluebird Society. The Backyard Naturalist continues to be a proud sponsor and encourages you to become a member, too! Share the collective experience of these dedicated and knowledgeable Bluebirders and participate in continued preservation efforts.
Local success story!!! Montgomery County Parks report 2000 Bluebird fledglings in 2012! Wow!!!
Bluebirds hatching! Photo from BYN customer Jodi Hewitt (Thank you, Jodi!).
Congratulations and gratitude to many, many more local heroes who host Bluebirds during nesting season and keep backyard seed feeders full for the increasing numbers of Bluebirds reported this winter. And last, but not least, thanks to all who have diligently maintained of thousands of Bluebird trails in our area, we will ALL enjoy this wonderful resurgence in population of a once elusive beauty, as evidenced right here in Montgomery County.
Want to know more about Bluebirds? Here are books about Bluebirds in stock at The Backyard Naturalist:
The Bluebird Book by Donald and Lillian Stokes
The Bluebird Effect by Julie Zickefoose
Captivating Bluebirds by Stan Tekiela
