What is a Bluebird Blitz?
A Blitz is a concentrated effort on a specific target date to locate as many Eastern Bluebirds in your locale as possible.
Why a Bluebird Blitz?
A statewide Bluebird Blitz is held by the Florida Bluebird Society in the Spring and Fall of each year in an effort to help determine the status of the Eastern Bluebird population in Florida. The Spring Blitz will help show where Bluebirds are breeding and nesting in Florida. The Fall Blitz will help show what habitat Bluebirds use and what they eat during the non-breeding season. The first Statewide Bluebird Blitz was held November 20-21, 2010.
How do I participate?
Simply choose a location, count the number of bluebirds you see, and send us a report of your sightings. We offer three ways to submit your sightings.
- Enter your data on a spreadsheet and email it to floridabluebirdsociety@gmail.com. Click here to download the spreadsheet.
- Click here to download and print a report form. Record your results on the downloaded form. Immediately after the Blitz either email the completed form to floridabluebirdsociety@gmail.com, or mail it to: Faith Jones, FBS Statewide Bluebird Blitz Chair, 763 Mallard Drive, Sanford Fl 32771.
- Enter you sightings at ebird.org. If you are a Cornell NestWatch participant, you will use the same login and password to access ebird.
A two-pronged approach.
Florida Bluebird Society is counting on volunteers to count bluebirds in Florida. FBS is conducting a two-pronged program in an effort to determine the status of the Eastern Bluebird population in the Sunshine State. The first program focuses on reports of visual sighting of bluebirds each spring and fall. The second program focuses on a brief seasonal summary of bluebird nesting results.
While the focus of the two programs differs, the Florida Bluebird Society believes that increasing reports from bluebird enthusiasts over a span of years will help reveal if the bluebird population in Florida is increasing or decreasing and where bluebirds are being seen in the Sunshine State.
Success of the programs hinges on the continuing reports of sufficient volunteers throughout Florida. The FBS has been charting results of the Bluebird Blitz and ebird reports since November 2010. With only two years of Bluebird Blitz and ebird reports charted, and with the variation in the number of reports received, the FBS believes it is still too soon to draw any conclusions concerning the status of the Eastern Bluebird population in Florida.
Click Here to see a listing of sightings in those counties where Eastern Bluebirds were reported since November 2010. Click here to see a chart comparing Blitz reports since November 2010.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING! TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF BLUEBIRDS