[ID: an illustration of a bluebird flying to the left. It is a bright blue, with a red patch under its wing and a white belly. The backg is a grassy field. End]
Eastern bluebird! Always a joy to see these fellas hanging around the forests’ edges. They’re social birds and gather in flocks large flocks sometimes of over a hundred individuals - I had a chance to see a big group on a walk once and it was so unique and cool seeing a bunch of bright blue birds among the very neutral-colored dead leaves and brush of the open woods.
The Bluebird couple has been bringing their babies from brood 1 that they raised in a different spot down to the backyard recently to introduce them to feeders and bath. The female is spending a lot of time in the box but I don’t think she is done laying yet. As of this morning, she has four eggs. This was an early morning scene at the pond, first she comes in, then a baby. You can hear the others faintly in the background. It is kind of neat to have them here without all the worry during their first nesting.
Oh, what a beautiful start to the week! The #Bluebirds have been here and checked out the nestbox. The male goes in first, then the female follows. The nestbox is a homemade Gilbertson style but with 6 instead of 4 inches in diameter. I elevated the bottom with a grid so that debris and larvae can fall through below the nest. The white "mesh" is to hide the grid, it seemed to irritate them last season.