Eastern Bluebird One of my fellow bloggers asked me recently how the Bluebirds fared this season. A light bulb went on in my head how about a recap’ of this past breeding season? The Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) have done quite well. To our surprise, they have raised three broods this season however the broods may not be of the same pair. I know one … Continue reading A Recap’ of The Breeding Season
The First Family To Settle Spring is a very active season for birds. I can tell that spring is really coming when the male American Goldfinches shed their winter coats and the male Cardinals are no longer willing to eat together. The same thing goes for the Eastern Bluebirds which no longer flock together like they do in winter. There is also their singing. The … Continue reading Eastern Bluebird
They Have Fledged It was very windy and a little cold last Monday, felt almost like a cold front was coming in. I limp along in the garden due to a golf ball sized bruise swelling on my right shin. Why? Tripped on a cement block in the garden while looking up when I should have been looking down. Despite the wind, it was a very nice day. … Continue reading Bluebirds, First Brood
Eastern Bluebirds Have Settled However bad this last winter was, the Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis) elected not to leave us for warmer digs down south. Maybe because we provided everything they needed here: food, water and places to roost inside from the cold wind and snow. This last winter was the first time that they were really present on an almost daily basis. Once the weather started to get warmer, they started … Continue reading First Family of the Year
Taking A Clue From Birds There has been one snow storm after another and the official spring date is still more than a month away. Our garden is covered a foot deep in snow crusted with ice. The cold frame we put up last fall has become an igloo at this point. I have no idea what has happened in there since I can’t have … Continue reading Spring Is Around The Corner
Looking For the Perfect Place It’s that time of year again…a time to look for a perfect place to raise a new generation. The birds that usually hang out together during winter start chasing one another, claiming their territory. A few of them checking out the nest boxes we put up in the garden. I cleaned them in mid-fall and put them back up for … Continue reading Bluebird House Hunting
Hope They will Winter With Us We have been housing Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) in our garden for a few years now. They arrive in early spring and check out birdhouses around the yard for nest-building and raising their chicks. In years past they would be gone by mid-autumn, but they never left this year. After their chicks fledged this year, they’ve been hanging around … Continue reading Bluebird
Tree Swallow vs Eastern Bluebird The usual visitors to our garden in the past few years just came back…the Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). We heard their unique gargle-like chirp up in the sky a few days ago. Four of them. Yesterday they were chased off by the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) couple that have been checking the bird houses in our garden. They have narrowed … Continue reading Hope they settle down soon
Bluebird, House Hunting It has been a very warm winter this year. Many birds that migrate south during winter had delayed their journey. I saw a Gray Catbird a few times this winter, trying to get some dried fruits from the feeder. I hope it survive the winter since it was a little late to travel south. The flock of Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) … Continue reading They Came Back Early.
Our hope is diminished A second family of Bluebirds came to check on a nest box at the corner of the vegetable garden a few weeks ago. Then they decided to build a nest. We were so happy that this year we will have two Bluebird families raising their chicks in our garden. I kept my eye on them whenever I could to make sure … Continue reading Mourning the Bluebirds
Petals and Wings 