My Eastern Bluebird Neighbors

I feel privileged.  That's what it's like to be a nest box landlord and have bluebirds settle in as neighbors.  I hoped for this when I put up the nest boxes, but I wasn't sure if they would succeed in attracting bluebirds.  

I love Carolina chickadees too, mind you.  I delighted in watching their nestlings change and fledge last season in this very same box.  And I'm enjoying my chickadee family in the second nest box farther from the house. Chickadee babies have to be the cutest ever! The chickadee nestlings pictured below hatched around the 15th of April and should be fledging any time.    

After believing I would have two chickadee families nesting in my nest boxes this season, a day arrived when nesting activity changed in the nest box close to the house.  On April 8th, a female chickadee was still hard at work building her nest, a full three inches of moss stacked neatly as a bottom layer, to show for her days of hard work.  Brief visits from bluebirds came and went during this time, and still she continued her nest building.  

But on April 9th, something dramatically different happened.  The bluebird pair came to visit and stayed a while.  The male went inside the nest box, while the female watched and listened from several positions outside the box.  He then came out and perched on the inside of the guard with moss in his beak.  He soon discarded it and the two flew to a dead oak limb with the male issuing thrush-y chucking sounds, as if to warn others away.  After this, I did not hear or see further chickadee activity around the nest box.  

After additional grasses were added to form the nest cup, on April 11th, just two days later, I discovered a single blue egg in the nest box.   On the 15th, there were a total of five blue eggs and the female has been incubating ever since.  Since incubation is said to take from 12-15 days, if she began on the 15th, the eggs should be hatching any day now.  

Sometimes while I'm sitting outside with morning coffee, the female will come out of the box and perch on the inside of the predator guard.  Other times the male comes to perch inside the guard and brings a breakfast offering, shown in the image below.  On other occasions, I've heard the male sing ever so softly and wing flex just outside the entrance to entice the female out of the box in the morning.    

It's been joy and a privilege to witness these activities, especially knowing that the best is yet to come.

To see earlier stories about bluebird visits to the nest boxes, visit Bluebirds and Wild Turkey and on my sketch blog, Wishing Upon Bluebirds.  For articles leading up to the story on this post, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see last season's chickadee family, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.

It's April and Spring is Here

Of course April 1st isn't the official day of spring, neither is it a guarantee of anything spring about the weather. Yesterday's report called for snow in the higher elevations. And if I needed confirmation, this morning I found two "snow birds"--slate-colored juncos--foraging just outside my door. Maybe those mountain tops did get that dusting of snow.

But the story about white stuff is very different down here in the valley.

While fruit trees are still showing color everywhere, in my yard I'm also enjoying the early opening of dogwood blossoms as they overlap the sprays of purple and pink displayed by the redbud trees.  Always a spectacular combination.   

And on the ground among patches of moss and pale bluets, I searched out the Virginia bluebells and found both fresh pink buds and the delicate blue bell-shaped blossoms.

One other plant has been catching my attention lately, the wild columbine that's getting ready for its first year of bloom.  I thought it had sprouted its delicate green leaves too soon when three weeks ago it was pelted by sleet and snow.  Hard rain and high winds followed.  Despite its delicate appearance, this hardy native showed no wear from all that bluster.    

Its strong stalk shot up, seemingly overnight, and produced tiny lantern shaped buds on arched stems.  Below is an image I took today showing the immature buds with a hint of the scarlet that will eventually dominate each blossom.  While I watch it change, I think of the large clump of columbines my mother once had in her yard and the stories she told of searching for wildflowers along the banks of the Tennessee River.  I'm also reminded of the hardiness of our native plants and the perfection in nature's timing as I see these spring flowers emerge. This columbine has become like a companion, its steady progress telling a story, offering up a new treasure for me to consider with each passing day.  

And while I was out and about checking for signs of spring, I paid a visit to the nest box in the lower yard.  A little over a week ago, I noticed a Carolina chickadee gathering nesting materials and flying in and out of the box.  Today I decided to check on the progress and found six tiny speckled eggs nestled in the softly lined nest cup.  An indignant Ms.Chickadee scolded me while I snapped this image.  

Spring has arrived in the Tennessee Valley.

For a view of the nest box, visit:  Wild Turkey and Eastern Bluebirds.  And for a sketching experience with Bluets and Virginia Bluebells, visit Fumbling En Plein Air at Vickie's Sketchbook.