{"id":59456,"date":"2019-08-12T05:40:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T11:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=59456"},"modified":"2025-05-19T14:00:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T19:00:23","slug":"picture-this-utah-could-lose-our-mountain-bluebirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/08\/12\/picture-this-utah-could-lose-our-mountain-bluebirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Picture This: Utah Could Lose Our Mountain Bluebirds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Mountain Bluebird perched in an elderberry – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that whenever I see Mountain Bluebirds I get excited, they are a delight to see perched, flying around or feeding their young. I also know I am not the only one fascinated by these bright blue birds, people write poems and songs about bluebirds, plus new birders, bird photographers and children can easily identify them and people talk about their lovely songs and calls. Three species of bluebirds enchant and excite people from the East to the West Coasts of North America. They are Eastern, Western and Mountain Bluebirds. I have a tea kettle on my kitchen counter that my maternal grandmother painted an Eastern Bluebird on, they were among her favorite subjects to paint.<\/p>\n

Our current climate crisis could mean Utah might lose our Mountain Bluebirds and it is not just us, it is Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming that will also be affected if action isn’t taken now.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Mountain Bluebird checking out a nesting cavity – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 2.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing is that this year I have seen fewer Mountain Bluebirds than I saw last season. In places where I saw and heard quite a few of these bluebirds last nesting season I am not hearing their calls, I am not seeing the flashes of blue that I used to see and when I have seen them they are seen in fewer numbers.<\/p>\n

Desertification<\/span><\/a> caused by climate change will have a severe impact on these beautiful birds. They will have to move and adapt. What if they can’t?<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Mountain Bluebird with his chicks – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Some people may consider the California Gulls<\/span><\/a> I wrote about yesterday as “pests” but I’ve never heard anyone say that about bluebirds because people find them so charismatic. Are they charismatic enough to make people think “we can’t lose them” to climate change?<\/p>\n

According to National Audubon if no action is taken on our climate crisis 78% of Mountain Bluebird summer range in Utah will be lost and 22% of their winter range here will be gone too.<\/p>\n

I know that many of my friends and family care. I know that people who connect with nature care but that isn’t enough. The government on the state and federal levels need to wake up and care right now because what is good for the birds is good for us.<\/p>\n

Standing up for nature is fighting for our lives. It really is<\/em> as simple as that.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Mountain Bluebird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our current climate crisis could mean Utah might lose our Mountain Bluebirds and it is not just us, it is Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming that will also be affected if action isn’t taken now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2578,2152,1254,2244,1369,1731,2261,26,773],"tags":[4004,1919,6677,5933,4880,195,4068,3462,7552,4070,4062,228,4069,2580,6678,4339,165,2315],"class_list":["post-59456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-clark-county","category-conservation","category-environment-wildlife-ethics","category-idaho","category-mountain-bluebirds","category-summit-county-utah","category-targhee-national-forest","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-aspen","tag-blue-elderberry","tag-bluebird","tag-bluebirds","tag-canyons","tag-chicks","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-crisis","tag-female","tag-male","tag-mountain-bluebird","tag-mountains","tag-nesting-cavity","tag-sambucus-cerulea","tag-sialia-currucoides","tag-spring","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-elderberry-mia-mcpherson-8992-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-fsY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90551,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/18\/male-mountain-bluebird-perched-on-mullein\/","url_meta":{"origin":59456,"position":0},"title":"Male Mountain Bluebird Perched On Mullein","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't had many bluebirds in my viewfinder this spring so when this adult male Mountain Bluebird perched on mullein showed up last week I was happy to photograph it.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Mountain Bluebird perched on mullein, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-on-mullein-mia-mcpherson-5870.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-on-mullein-mia-mcpherson-5870.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Mountain Bluebird perched in a Chokecherry tree, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountian-bluebird-juvenile-perched-mia-mcpherson-5679-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountian-bluebird-juvenile-perched-mia-mcpherson-5679-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountian-bluebird-juvenile-perched-mia-mcpherson-5679-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountian-bluebird-juvenile-perched-mia-mcpherson-5679-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52687,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/20\/focusing-on-photographing-juvenile-mountain-bluebirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":59456,"position":3},"title":"Focusing On Photographing Juvenile Mountain Bluebirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Luck was on my side when I found the family of Mountain Bluebirds in good light plus they were close enough to take quality photos of them, first the male then the female and the juveniles.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Mountain Bluebird with adult male watching over it, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-adult-mia-mcpherson-4334.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-adult-mia-mcpherson-4334.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-adult-mia-mcpherson-4334.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-adult-mia-mcpherson-4334.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74484,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/08\/male-mountain-bluebird-glowing-in-early-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":59456,"position":4},"title":"Male Mountain Bluebird Glowing In Early Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This male Mountain Bluebird seemed to glow in the early morning light which was in sharp contrast with the shadows on the mountains in the background.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult male 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":72319,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/30\/young-mountain-bluebirds-in-my-viewfinder\/","url_meta":{"origin":59456,"position":5},"title":"Young Mountain Bluebirds In My Viewfinder","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I was happy to have these juvenile Mountain Bluebirds in my viewfinder yesterday and to be able to listen to their soft calls high on the sagebrush dotted hillside.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Bluebird juvenile perched on a sagebrush stump, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, 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