Wills Point, TX
Bluebirds Take Flight In Wills Point, Texas
Nowhere else in the Lone Star State can you find so many of the birds with the rust breast, white belly, and blue back that are the town’s landmark—thanks to the Wills Point Wilderness Society.
“At the turn of the century, cotton was king, but now we’re known as the Bluebird Capital of Texas,” longtime resident Sam Parker says.
Wills Point was designated the “Bluebird Capital of Texas” by a 1995 resolution signed by then-Gov. George W. Bush, after the official annual National Audubon Society bird count found more bluebirds here than any other area in Texas for 11 consecutive years.
“Years ago it was difficult to find a bluebird,’’ says Richard Kinney, who has been doing the Audubon bird count for the last 17 years. “Last Christmas we registered 379 bluebirds. That was down from 461 from the year 2000, but then we had a terribly cold winter and a drought.”
The local Wilderness Society estimates the area has 100 to 200 new fledglings each year.
The birds—mostly Eastern bluebirds—arrive in early spring and add a brilliant splash of color in this east Texas town of rolling hills and pine trees.
Just 10 years ago, Wills Point residents feared nature and humans were wiping out the species.
“We realized the bluebird’s habitat was being destroyed by new development as old trees where they build their nests were being torn down,” explains Wilderness Society member Gen Ballard. Another enemy is the house sparrow, a native of England, which often invades bluebird nests and kills the inhabitants.
The town of 3,496 enthusiastically supported the “Save the Bluebird,” campaign launched by the Wills Point Wilderness Society.
Bluebird nesting boxes with small entryways that protect the birds from predators were handed out and locals signed up to be “housekeepers.” From high school students to senior citizens, everyone is on bluebird safety patrol and rows and rows of wooden nesting boxes can be seen for miles on U.S. Highways 80 and 64.
Vance and Diane Brown monitor 25 boxes on Highway 64. They embark each week with their recording notepad, gently opening each box to check on the nest’s status.
“We keep record of how many eggs are inside, what color they are, if they’ve hatched, and how the babies are doing,” Diane Brown says. Once the birds fledge, the Browns clean the box out.
This year, the Browns’ boxes are home to 12 bluebird nests and 42 babies or small, sky-blue eggs.
Downtown Wills Point is striking for more than the bluebird boxes. Carefully preserved structures from the early 1900s line the red-bricked main street. Historic buildings include the 1926 Majestic Theater, the longest continuously operated movie house in Texas.
Still, bluebirds dominate. A bluebird flag hangs in front of a local store, a bluebird is painted on the front of a business window, and the town’s water tower sports the painting of a bluebird.
The annual bluebird festival during the third weekend of April attracts thousands.
“There’s the bluebird trail bus tours, arts and crafts, and lots of food,” Diane Brown says.
Local folks assist visitors in birdwatching as they walk the designated wilderness trail in search of a bluebird.
“We don’t have the cotton,’’ Estes says, “but now we have more bluebirds than we ever dreamed of.”
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