A blue saga It’s a Saturday morning and I settle in with a cup of coffee for a quiet read. Suddenly, a celestial fragment falls from the sky, catching my eye. A male Mountain Bluebird has dropped from my roof and landed on a nearby nest box. As always, he commands my full attention. I reach for my binoculars and lose myself in his sublime blue.
Oh, Soph, I just love this! I have 6 families of Eastern Bluebirds and they are my heart ❤️ Thank you for writing this and I will thank Lis for sharing it! xxoo
Susan! So wonderful to hear from you! And how incredible that you have SIX families of Eastern Bluebirds! I would never be able to focus on my work. : ) I'm so happy that you love them so much. The more of us that are willing to help them, the better.
Sophie, I am so glad to see Rambluey made famous on the internet!!! I loved hearing about his antics over the years. I recall seeing a roadrunner in south Texas having the same "rearview window" battle, skittering and sliding back and forth across my truck windshield to try to jab at his own image on duel fronts simultaneously, rattling all the while. By the time I returned to the truck and interrupted his single-minded defense, he was nearing exhaustion.
And I am so glad you mentioned capping open pipes to avoid entrapping cavity nesters. I've especially seen this peril in the oil and gas fields and in areas where individual mining claims are marked by posts or pipes at each corner. Thanks for a great read!!!
I just realized (5/1) that I never responded to your wonderful comment! You certainly shared in a lot of Rambluey stories back in the day. And I was fascinated to hear about your roadrunner experience! I'm glad you were able to come to his rescue. It's amazing but heartbreaking to see these fierce defenders. Thanks, too, for mentioning the mining claim posts. That's where I first learned about this issue. Then I started noticing other uncapped pipes. The Forest Service in Wyoming blew me off when I brought this issue (uncapped vent pipes on public land toilets) to their attention years ago, but the agency has since capped/screened these types of pipes nationwide, I believe. Small but significant steps forward in our efforts to help birds! Thanks for reading!!
Maybe the slight difference in elevation/exposure/temperature? Or maybe the density of your vegetation? They do prefer to hunt in areas with short grasses/vegetation and bare areas. It's a little baffling sometimes where they don't occur. They always visited in early spring when I lived in the sagebrush sea of high-elevation Laramie, Wyoming, but they never nested in my area, though they nested about a 15-min drive away.
Oh I remember Rambluey 💙 and the panic over getting bags on side mirrors! 🤣 What a spectacular bird the mountain bluebird is….I am loving seeing them sparkle across the sagebrush out here. Well done on another wonderful Words for Birds installment! Loved it! 🥰
I just LOVE that image of Mountain Bluebirds sparkling across the sagebrush. Trails of brilliance, wherever they go! So glad you delighted in Rambluey along with me! He was unforgettable.
You've captured the beauty and ferociousness of the male bluebird so wonderfully Sophie! What a pleasure it is to read your words for birds. I can't wait to read your book!
Your Bluebird set up is well-done. I've had those boxes up in the past and my inamorata sternly rebuked me for not having the anti-snake/predator sleeve. Wonderful read as always.
Thank you! I could have used your wise inamorata's advice in the early days of my nest boxes! It might have spared some poor wrens. Instead I had to learn the hard way. (Snakes aren't a concern in my area.) After much agonizing at my hardware store, I happened to hit upon the stovepipe idea. I only discovered a few days ago that this was standard operating procedure in some areas of the nest box world!
Oh, Soph, I just love this! I have 6 families of Eastern Bluebirds and they are my heart ❤️ Thank you for writing this and I will thank Lis for sharing it! xxoo
Susan! So wonderful to hear from you! And how incredible that you have SIX families of Eastern Bluebirds! I would never be able to focus on my work. : ) I'm so happy that you love them so much. The more of us that are willing to help them, the better.
Sophie, I am so glad to see Rambluey made famous on the internet!!! I loved hearing about his antics over the years. I recall seeing a roadrunner in south Texas having the same "rearview window" battle, skittering and sliding back and forth across my truck windshield to try to jab at his own image on duel fronts simultaneously, rattling all the while. By the time I returned to the truck and interrupted his single-minded defense, he was nearing exhaustion.
And I am so glad you mentioned capping open pipes to avoid entrapping cavity nesters. I've especially seen this peril in the oil and gas fields and in areas where individual mining claims are marked by posts or pipes at each corner. Thanks for a great read!!!
I just realized (5/1) that I never responded to your wonderful comment! You certainly shared in a lot of Rambluey stories back in the day. And I was fascinated to hear about your roadrunner experience! I'm glad you were able to come to his rescue. It's amazing but heartbreaking to see these fierce defenders. Thanks, too, for mentioning the mining claim posts. That's where I first learned about this issue. Then I started noticing other uncapped pipes. The Forest Service in Wyoming blew me off when I brought this issue (uncapped vent pipes on public land toilets) to their attention years ago, but the agency has since capped/screened these types of pipes nationwide, I believe. Small but significant steps forward in our efforts to help birds! Thanks for reading!!
Curiously, I never have them at Snake Spring even though there is a large grass field next to me.
Maybe the slight difference in elevation/exposure/temperature? Or maybe the density of your vegetation? They do prefer to hunt in areas with short grasses/vegetation and bare areas. It's a little baffling sometimes where they don't occur. They always visited in early spring when I lived in the sagebrush sea of high-elevation Laramie, Wyoming, but they never nested in my area, though they nested about a 15-min drive away.
Oh I remember Rambluey 💙 and the panic over getting bags on side mirrors! 🤣 What a spectacular bird the mountain bluebird is….I am loving seeing them sparkle across the sagebrush out here. Well done on another wonderful Words for Birds installment! Loved it! 🥰
I just LOVE that image of Mountain Bluebirds sparkling across the sagebrush. Trails of brilliance, wherever they go! So glad you delighted in Rambluey along with me! He was unforgettable.
You've captured the beauty and ferociousness of the male bluebird so wonderfully Sophie! What a pleasure it is to read your words for birds. I can't wait to read your book!
Thank you, Dana! I'm so grateful for our shared love of nature and words.
Your Bluebird set up is well-done. I've had those boxes up in the past and my inamorata sternly rebuked me for not having the anti-snake/predator sleeve. Wonderful read as always.
Thank you! I could have used your wise inamorata's advice in the early days of my nest boxes! It might have spared some poor wrens. Instead I had to learn the hard way. (Snakes aren't a concern in my area.) After much agonizing at my hardware store, I happened to hit upon the stovepipe idea. I only discovered a few days ago that this was standard operating procedure in some areas of the nest box world!