February 16, 2025: Winter Bluebirds

 It's certainly mid-winter here at the lake, but are bluebirds a sign of spring?

Well, not really.  Seeing an Eastern Bluebird in New Hampshire in winter was unusual prior to 1990, but since then this pretty songbird has been steadily increasing its winter presence in the state.  First it was only in the southern part of the state, but now they have been observed in winter as far north as Coos County.  This chart from NH Audubon bird surveys shows the dramatic increase in winter bluebird observations in New Hampshire.

The reasons for this are not fully understood but probably stem from a combination of warming temperatures and increased human planting of ornamental fruit trees (fruit is an important part of the bluebird's diet).  You can read more about changes in bluebird behavior in this post by Pam Hunt at the NH Audubon website.

We saw winter bluebirds when we lived in Londonderry as far back as 2006; our first sighting in Meredith was three years ago. (A Bluebird invasion, February 2022)  This past week they've been visiting the feeders every day even though we don't have much fruit in them, just a few raisins and cherries in the mix.  But they'll eat other food as well when fruit and insects are scarce.  They like to sit under the feeders and pluck out small morsels that other birds have dropped, especially the suet as they spend a lot of time hanging out right under the suet feeder, and sometimes perch on it to eat.

They are such a pretty bird.

The males have the beautiful bright blue feathers, but I also like the more interesting color pattern on the back of the females.

The morning I took these pictures there were four of them commandeering the feeders until a big Red-bellied Woodpecker flew in and scattered them all away.  

The woodpecker didn't even go the feeders.

So bluebirds aren't a sign of spring these days, but here's something that is:  Sunrise here at the lake is getting close to 7:00, and sunset is now after 5:15pm.  Sunrise is also the best time to enjoy the full moon on a clear morning. 

The aptly-named February Snow Moon sets over Wicwas on another clear and cold morning.

And the February Snow Moon continues to bring us snow, with another 10" accumulating today.  All this snow means the World Championship Sled Dog Derby in Laconia is a go for the upcoming weekend.  It's a great spectator event with races going on all weekend, starting at 10:00am on Friday and continuing through Sunday afternoon.  You can find information on the different races and the best places to watch and park here.  I like to watch the start - the excitement of the start with each team anxious to run is something to experience if you've never seen it.  And with staggered starts, the action goes on and on, and then soon the first teams are returning to the finish line.  

It really is a unique winter experience that few people have an opportunity to witness in person!