User:Eastern Bluebird/Eastern bluebird

Bluebirds were popular with early American colonists and associated with the coming of spring. They were referred to as the 'blue robin' because of their resembles to the European Robin. Bluebirds have been mentioned in the works of many writers including Thoreau's writings, Robert Frost' s "The Last Word of a Bluebird (as told to a child)", the "Over the Rainbow" song from The Wizard of Oz, and John Burrough's "The Bluebird". Lawrence Zeleny said that bluebirds represent joy to Americans.

Eastern Bluebirds thrived in the 1700s and 1800s. This flourishing is thought to be connected with the activity of settlers. Clearing forests made new habitat available for bluebirds and nesting sites were created in the increasing numbers of apple orchards and in wooden fence posts that eventually rotted. It is believed that bluebirds were most abundant around 1900. However, increasing competition with the invasive species of European Starlings and House Sparrows along with loss of farmland began to take a toll on bluebird populations. Along with these, pesticides and scarcity of food during winter compounded to cause the number of bluebirds to fall. A definite drop has been shown to have occurred between 1938 and the late 1970s.

Early conservation efforts are seen as early as 1934 when Thomas Musselman created the first bluebird trail by setting up rows of bluebird houses along roads. Also in the 1930s, William Duncan created a bluebird house design and educated others about these birds. In 1964, The National Association for Protection and Propagation of the Purple Martin and Bluebirds of America was founded. After it went out of existence, the Nature Society kept up with conservation work. Lawrence Zeleney's 1976 book, The Bluebird: How You Can Help Its Fight For Survival, and a National Geographic article he wrote helped make the plight of these birds well known. In 1978, the North American Bluebird Society was founded.