Bluebirds at Coal Creek: Early March on the Prairie
It was a cold afternoon on March 1 when I pulled into Coal Creek Open Space near my home for some birding and was met with flashes of blue across the grasslands. Mountain Bluebirds spread out in every direction. Not a few. A lot. For a moment, I was stunned into stillness.
A Landscape Full of Blue
I started counting and quickly realized there were well over 100 birds scattered across the landscape. Staying in the car, I rolled slowly along, watching the hillsides. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be another flash of blue.
Some birds were perched on shrubs, sat on fence posts, or on the tops of small pines. Others were dropping down to the ground to grab insects, then hopping back up to a nearby perch. At one point, I lifted my binoculars and counted more than 30 bluebirds in the field of view at once. For a moment, it felt like every shrub and small tree around me seemed to hold one.
Weather Holding in the Foothills
Up in the foothills, a storm sat stalled above the mountains. Through their open space, I could see rain sweeping across the slopes. Their peaks hidden from view by a grey curtain of clouds. Every once in a while, a few drops would reach me out on the prairie.
Waiting on the Weather
Early March is when Mountain Bluebirds begin moving back toward breeding areas in the foothills and mountains. Storms moving in the higher elevations can slow that movement, and birds often pause along the foothill grasslands where feeding conditions remain good. Places like Coal Creek Open Space can briefly fill with birds waiting for a weather window to continue upslope to their nesting areas.
As the afternoon settled in, more birds began shifting upslope into the scattered pines along the hillside. Others remained out on the grasslands, moving between shrubs, fence posts, and the ground as they hunted.
Built for Open Country
Mountain Bluebirds are built for open country like this. Unlike Western Bluebirds, which often stay closer to woodland edges, Mountain Bluebirds are birds of grasslands, sagebrush, and wide open spaces. They hunt mostly insects, dropping from low perches to grab beetles and other prey from the ground. In colder months, they also rely heavily on berries such as juniper.
A single Mountain Bluebird is striking on its own, especially the males, set against the muted tones of the prairie. But when you run into a flock like this, the scale is remarkable. Watching birds lift from the grass, settle onto shrubs, then spread back across the hillside, like snippets of brilliant blue sky scattered across the prairie.
The best birding moments are not always rare species or big discoveries. Sometimes it’s simply being in the right place when a mountain storm pauses migration, and the prairie fills with bluebirds.
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