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Eastern Bluebirds

Irvine Nature Center

Eastern bluebirds are small, round thrushes – most weighing no more than 32 grams. They flit and fly quickly throughout the landscape, pausing to rest on tree branches and standing out to our human eyes due to their rare blue color. It’s no wonder that they have become a symbol of happiness and cheer – they really are a delight to see.

At Irvine, we’ve installed over 60 of wooden bird boxes that are the perfect size and shape for bluebirds, so it’s common to see bustling bluebird parents collecting nesting materials and food across our property.

But a question was posed to me recently and it got me thinking: are bluebirds really blue?

W. Brooks Paternotte took the helm of Irvine Nature Center as executive director in July 2013 and immediately began building on the strong 35-year foundation. Brooks is a Baltimore native who was a teacher, coach, advisor, dean and Head of the Middle School during his 13 years at Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore. He is also an instructor and ambassador of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and is a Leave No Trace Master, as well as an avid outdoorsman and a features writer for FlyLife Magazine.