My neighbor gave me a homemade bluebird house many years ago. Its first tenants were squirrels who tried to gnaw a bigger hole so that they could easily secure housing. After reinforcing that hole with a metal plate, we have welcomed bluebirds in our backyard for about 7 years. The first few years there was only one family, and they usually moved into the condo in late February or early March. Fortunately, those same bluebirds remember the lodging and their offspring return every year, sometimes to have another family in late April or May. Last year, two eggs appeared in mid-June, and I thought they would suffocate in the Georgia heat.

the beginning

Mom

Dad

I saw Mom and Dad Blue preparing for their nest in mid-February, and I think that they’re a better predictor of an early spring than a groundhog. This meant that my favorite time of the year was just around the corner, and all of the bulbs, bushes, and trees would soon be showing off their colors in our “old forest” neighborhood. Spring of 2020 was especially vivid, and lasted far longer than the season usually does around here. Or maybe I was just more aware because of the strict quarantine. It gave a sense of serene hope during that bleak time.

newborns

sharing duties

waiting for me to leave

The 5 brilliant blue eggs of March 2021 hatched, and all five chicks survived. It is more than a full-time job to keep all these babies fed. There is a rotation of three adults that take turns collecting and delivering worms, grubs, and insects. I can’t tell if there are two males and a female, or two females and a male, but they run a tight assembly line from dawn to dark. I knock on the door before opening the latch to look in on the babies. Good thing bluebirds don’t care (too much) if you intrude, but I have seen them viciously attack squirrels that were a bit too close. And yes, I cheered the dive-bombing the entire time.

sticking the landing

1-2 weeks old

It won’t be long before the young ones attempt to fly. The family began less than a month ago, but this is how it happens. Any parent will tell you that “it all goes by so fast.” I look forward to seeing them take flying lessons out of the weathered box and into the bright blue skies that so perfectly match their wings.

©March 2021 MzM Creative Svcs