Photo Gallery
Aug. 1, 2023
The Story of a Rare Albino Eastern Bluebird By Mary Roen, River Falls, WI
On June 19, 2023, I was monitoring my Bluebird trail when I came upon a nest with an unusual looking Bluebird. It was moreundeveloped than its 3 siblings and the feathers starting to come out white!
Could this be an albino chick in the nest? I snapped a couple of pictures and
left quickly. This was day 8.
I went back two days later on June 21, day 10. It was doing well and had feathered out more. I wondered if the parents were feeding it as much as its normal siblings, but it seemed they were. I left a few mealworms on the top of the nest box for them.
I normally check my nest boxes once a week, but I wanted to keep track on how the little albino was doing so I went back in two more days on June 23, day 12. I had seen its pink eyes, so I knew it was an albino. It was doing well, still smaller than its normal colored siblings, but alert and had feathered out more. > > > >
I went back on June 25, day 14. It was completely feathered out and looked healthy, but was still smaller than the others. With the modified Gilwood nest box built by Joe Adelmann, I was able to take pictures with the door closed so they would not fledge prematurely.
On June 26, day 15, the albino was growing and looking well. Note its pink eye. It was close to the size of its siblings in the left photo.
On June 27, day 16, the albino was the only nestling left in the box (right photo). The others had fledged.It looked alert and healthy.
I expected the albino to be gone when I went back on June 28th, and it was. The nest was empty. It fledged on day number 17, just one day after its siblings. > > >
< < < There is a treeline close to the nest box and I thought that would be a likely place for the fledglings to be. I walked closer and the Bluebird parents started scolding me like they did when I did a nest box check. Luckily, I had my binoculars and camera with me. I checked out the trees for about 15-20 minutes and I saw the albino! It was sitting on a branch quite far up, right by the trunk of the tree. Had it been further back I would never have seen it. It was a one in a million chance, and I found it! It just sat there on that branch for about 15 minutes while I was taking pictures. I hated to leave, knowing I would probably never see it again.
I have monitored nest boxes for 34 years and fledged over 3,800 Bluebirds, and this is the first albino I have seen. Albinos are not common. One source said one in 1,764 hatchlings. Both parents have to carry the recessive trait. Albinos usually have a short life span because they are so much more obvious to predators. Without melanin, the feathers wear out faster. Also, albinos are subject to eye problems, so their vision isn’t as good as normally colored birds. Despite all this, the little albino survived to fledge, and my hope is that it beats the odds and survives to come back next year. I will be watching for it.
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