Loren Hughes’ crusade garners Edgar County recognitionas Illinois’ top county for fledgling bluebirds.

Story By JeanneTownsend HandyPhotos By Tom Handy

“Is there any sign of springquite so welcome as the glintof the first bluebird unless itis his softly whistled song? Nowonder the bird has becomethe symbol for happiness.”

—Neltje Blanchan,

Birds Worth Knowing, 1917

Bluebirds seem to bepart of an idealizedremembrance of anearlier era, a featurewithin a watercolor

landscape complete with picturesquebarns and meandering gravel lanes. It ishard to imagine such a bird—brilliant incolor, pleasant of voice, and gentle ofnature—fitting into the sharp-edged,fast-paced present. And, indeed, it hasnot fared well. Loss of habitat and com-petition from other species have beenthe worst of threats causing easternbluebird populations to drop an esti-mated 90 percent between the 1920sand 1970s, and there are far too few of

us who can claim to have laid eyes onone. But in Paris, Illinois, the bluebird isonce again a common sight—thanks toLoren Hughes.

“Bluebird Man” announced a sign atthe end of Hughes’s driveway, and thiswas but one indication of the 81-year-old’s involvement in the recovery ofthe eastern bluebird. He greeted meoutside his home, decked out for our

Since building his first bluebird

nest box 14 years ago, Loren

Hughes has created 1,006 boxes

of his own design.

On the Trail

of the Bluebird

10 / OutdoorIllinois October 2010

tor for the same nesting sites as thosesought after by bluebirds, and in theirdesire to prevail, house sparrows havebeen known to kill bluebirds, destroytheir eggs or push them from their nests.

As the country progressed throughthe 20th century, the eastern bluebirdpopulation faced additional peril in theform of harmful pesticides and habitatloss as agricultural methods changed,metal posts replaced wooden fenceposts, and development upon openland increased. By the late 1960s, east-ern bluebirds had been placed on theNational Audubon Society’s Species ofConcern list.

But, fortunately for these birds—andfor those of us who wish for their soci-ety in the midst of ours—bluebirds willreadily take up residence in human-made nest boxes. And this is wherepeople like Loren Hughes, a recipientof the 2007 Environmental Hero Award,come in.

Weekly monitoring of bluebird

nest boxes is necessary to insure

the viability of future eastern blue-

bird populations.

excursion in an East Central IllinoisBluebird Society cap and a polo shirtboasting a “Bluebird Man” insignia.

Hughes’s commitment to the blue-bird’s plight began 14 years ago whenhe found a nest box diagram in a handy-man magazine. He built the box, hungit up, and soon saw his first bluebird—ever. By 2006, Loren Hughes would bestanding before the annual gathering ofthe East Central Illinois Bluebird Soci-ety, of which he is founder and presi-dent, to announce that he had fledged955 bluebirds in that year alone.

After touring a workshop whereHughes has now constructed 1,006bluebird houses of his own design, wehopped into his car and set off on abluebird trail.

It is thought that the eastern bluebird(Sialia sialis) was as common as the

Bluebirds usually lay four to

five eggs (laying one egg a day),

and may have up to three nests in

one season.

American robin when English settlersfirst arrived in this country. Of the blue-bird, John James Audubon would write:“Full of innocent vivacity, warbling itsever pleasing notes, and familiar as anybird can be in its natural freedom, it isone of the most agreeable of our feath-ered favorites.” In fact, up until the mid-1800s, human activities helped the blue-bird thrive. The conversion of forest topasture and the installation of woodenfence posts along agricultural fields,which would provide additional nestsites for this cavity-seeking species,were an unintentional boon.

In the late 19th century, however,introduction of the non-native Englishhouse sparrow spelled the beginning ofdisaster.

“The sparrow’s bill can crack theskull of another bird,” Hughes told me.The house sparrow is a fierce competi-

October 2010 OutdoorIllinois / 11

“The Bluebird of Happinesslong absent from his life, Nedis visited by the chicken ofDepression.”

—Gary Larson, The Far Side

12 / OutdoorIllinois October 2010

As we tooled about town from nestbox to nest box, Hughes rattled off theschedule he follows from mid March tomid August as he monitors his “bluebirdtrails”: Tuesday—Willow Creek Trailand the golf course; Saturday—City Trail1; Sunday—the Indiana Trail with 27boxes between Paris and Terre Haute;and Mondays—City Trail 2, on which hetravels over 50 miles to monitor 108boxes. A trail consists of a minimum offive nest boxes placed at regular inter-vals. Hughes’s routes now include 300boxes and many miles of driving.

“I think the cops know who I am,”he stated.

But it is not enough to set up a trail.The boxes must be monitored. Hugheshas obtained permission to place his

nest boxes on both public and privateproperty in and around Paris, and ateach stop we made he would carefullyopen the box to reveal nestlings of vari-ous ages. Between my exclamations of“Oh my gosh!” as the oversized beaksand scrawny bodies were revealed tome, he explained the importance ofbox monitoring.

Weekly inspection of a box makes itpossible, through examination of thenesting material and eggs, to determinewhether another species has taken itover. Other potential problems can becaught early as well. Hughes pulled outa copy of a state map sectioned off bycounty, which indicated the bluebirdnumbers reported in 2006. Alongside

the outline of Illinois was a caption thatread, “Only 30 counties out of 102reporting—where are the rest?????”with numerous question marks reveal-ing frustration at the lack of reporting.

Within the pages of five calculationbooks, Hughes records data that ulti-mately increase the chances of bluebirdsuccess and provide important popula-tion trends. And it is his hope that morepeople within more counties will do thesame. In 2009, Hughes reported 844fledged bluebirds for the community ofParis alone and a total of 1,971 bluebirdsin the entire county—making EdgarCounty number one in the state for thesixth year in a row for number of report-ed fledglings. Humankind may havebeen unwitting partners in both their ini-tial rise in numbers and their subsequentcollapse, but now, as an educated part-ner, we can be witness to their return.

Our last stop of the day was at theParis Dairy Queen—and we stoppednot only for a meal. Behind the restau-rant, beneath the shade of a tree, sits

“The increase in the bluebirdpopulation is a remarkablesuccess story. It is the directresult of widespread action bysympathetic bird lovers whopledged their help and fol-lowed through.”

—Arnette Heidcamp,

Bluebirds in My House, 1997

Nearly ready to fledge—in 2009,

Loren Hughes personally fledged

844 bluebirds.

Help Bring Back OurGems of Blue

Think about next year’s bluebirds now,while winter weather keeps you indoors.To order a copy of the above referenced

brochure describing bluebird nesting habits,tips on nest care and instructions for a con-structing bluebird house, visit the DNR Clear-inghouse at dnr.state.il.us/teachkids/ordertype5.asp

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“Only with the constructionof bluebird trails, consistingof next boxes erected andmonitored for bluebird use,have populations reboundedin recent years.”

—Illinois Natural History

Survey report, July-August 1996

October 2010 OutdoorIllinois / 13

an outdoor eating area. Beyond that isone of Hughes’s bluebird boxes,mounted on a pole in a grassy oasis.The nest box has been a feature at theDairy Queen for six years, and itattracted bluebirds almost immediately.“I’ll have a hotdog and a side order ofbluebird viewing,” I could imagine cus-tomers saying.

“Let’s see if everything looks good,”Hughes suggested. And, sure enough, allwas well with three fast-asleep, five-day-old nestlings. Soon he would spot thebluebird father in the nearby tree, patient-ly awaiting the chance to check on hisyoung. Hughes explained that the males

take over much of the feeding, allowingthe females to rest or perhaps start a newnest, since bluebirds can have as many asthree nests in one season.

When Gayla Foote, who owns theDairy Queen along with her husbandMike, joined us at the bluebird box ask-ing, “How are our little babies?” itbecame obvious that these birds werean expected and appreciated part of theneighborhood. This thought was con-firmed when Mayor Craig Smith pulledinto the parking lot at his office nextdoor, and we walked over to find outhow his bluebird nest box was doing.

Given their charm and the assis-tance provided through their substan-tial consumption of insects such as cut-worms, crickets, beetles and grasshop-pers, who could ask for a betterneighbor? Thanks to Loren Hughes andhis trails, the bluebirds of Paris havefound not only a friend but also anentire community.

Springfield writer Jeanne Townsend

Handy holds an M.A. in Environmental

Studies and has been accepted into the

Society of Environmental Journalists.

Tom Handy is a Web specialist for

the Southern Illinois University School of

Medicine. He spends his free time as a

freelance photographer and musician.

A male bluebird awaits an

opportunity to check on his three

nearby nestlings in a box located

behind the Paris Dairy Queen.

From mid March to mid

August, Loren Hughes monitors

300 nest boxes on his numerous

bluebird trails.