JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation (JHWF) is asking community members to participate in mountain bluebird resighting data collection by reporting bluebirds with visible colored leg bands, or “bluebirds with bling.”
According to JHWF, mountain bluebirds have been banded in Jackson Hole with unique series of USGS aluminum color bands since 2017.
This citizen science program is designed to help identify if mountain bluebirds are successfully returning to Jackson Hole from their migration to their nestbox. It’s part of the JHWF Mountain Bluebird Nestbox Trail Project, which aims to mitigate for lost habitat and is under the Nature Mapping Jackson Hole program.
“Mountain Bluebirds have an extremely high ‘nest site fidelity,’ which means once they establish a nest, they will return to the same site year after year,” says Kyle Kissock, JHWF communications manager.
A resighting data sheet is available to print and take into the field as a guide. When reporting bands, indicate which color is seen on the top right, bottom right, top left and bottom left.
Bluebirds will often have multiple bands on each leg; according to Kissock, on one leg the color band combination identifies the year this bird was banded, and on the other leg the color band combination identifies the individual bird. Black band over silver band means the bird was banded in 2023, yellow band over sliver band means the bird was banded in 2022 and red band over silver band means the bird was banded in 2021.
A photo if possible is also important to verify the bird.
“This is something that anybody can do,” says Kissock. “Mountain bluebirds are a species that are in decline, as are many species in the Mountain West.”
Report any color band uncertainty instead of guessing a color. Learn more about the program and what to report here.
All data can be submitted to info@jhwildlife.org.
Recently, the annual Mountain Bluebird Classic took place in Jackson Hole, which has raised over $1,500 for local mountain bluebirds birds over the years.
