On Saturday July 12 at our home in Darnestown, Montgomery County, I was indoors about 7:45 pm when my wife Marcia called to me from the yard that I better come out to the back yard, to see a whole lot of bluebirds. And added that I "might want to bring the binos".   Juvenile bluebirds were perched all over the crown of a large, mostly bare sycamore tree in the back yard, with more arriving all the time. At first we counted 25, then 30, but more kept coming.  At about 8:00 pm the number in sight at one time peaked at 42!!!! We could hear still more calling from the neighboring yard.

I have never seen so many Eastern Bluebirds at one time, let alone in one tree.  This year we had four boxes occupied simultaneously on our 2 acre yard. Each box produced two or more broods, but this flock must have included other juveniles from elsewhere as well as our "own".

Kudos to Andy Rabin for putting up so many bluebird boxes in Seneca State Park in the 1990's.  I think that is when the bluebird population really took off in this part of Darnestown.

Good birding!
Don Simonson, Darnestown, Montgomery County MD