Otto here...

Harland VT near the Lull's Brook.

I saw 4-6 bluebirds roost in an old bluebird nesting box at dusk this evening (around 4:30-4:45.)  One flew in to the area, found a high perch, and watched (puffed up from the cold) while 4 or 5  other B-birds flew into the box over a 10-15 min span. After they all had entered, this bird followed them into the box...

Anthropomorphically, it almost looked like this was the "Flight Leader" watching over his flock.

I don't know much about winter roosting behavior, but it sure looked to me like they were "snuggling in for the night..."

The homeowner said she had noticed this for the last couple of evenings...  She didn't notice when they left in the morning...

The area is fairly open with a small pond at the bottom.  I didn't notice a lot of sumac or wild rose; but, it looked like an area of early succession plants.

Personally,  I was pretty psyched to see a bunch of bluebirds in the middle of a deep, deep freeze in January.

Any input on this sort of behavior would be appreciated.

Thank,

Otto Baun


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