Mountain Bluebirds

Last summer I put hummingbird feeders up on my deck and have been watching those fascinating little birds and snapping photos of them. I could almost say that hummingbirds are my favorite. But then I remember another time and place and a different bird. Years ago I had a summer place in Montana where I was blessed with lots of Mountain Bluebirds. I set up a nest box, watched, and took photos. The Mountain Bluebird family story is in the photos below. For many years I considered them my favorite birds.

→ Click on images for a better view. ←
Overview
Nest box on the left.
Storm brews in the distance.
This is in the Rocky Mountains of Montana.

Solitary nest box.
Selected as home by Mountain Bluebirds
in late May.

Dad

Mom

Yes, the eggs are BLUE too. 😊

Mom doing her duty.

First egg hatched.
Look carefully.
The beek is easy to spot.

Checking on the family.

Feeding is a busy project.

Mom and Dad both bring food.

These little ones are hungry.

Trying to pretend they are not there.

More food please.

Getting bigger.

So big it is getting crowded.
Note poop stuck on walls.
Sometimes the parents could be seen
bringing the poop out of the nest.

Almost ready to leave the nest.

Box cleaned out and ready for next year.

I miss the storm clouds in Montana's
big sky country.
And the Mountain Bluebirds!

If you enjoy critters like I do check out Eileen's Saturday's Critters.  Thanks, Eileen, for hosting and sharing.

Birds of a feather ...

→ Click on images for a better view. ←

Midday Thursday (yesterday) I looked out my window to see the scene above. Although not unusual to see birds grouping together it seemed odd for them to be so still for several minutes in that tree with almost no leaves. In summer I would probably not have noticed it at all. So, I picked up the camera to snap a photo. The tree is about 50 feet from the window. Zooming in on a part of the photo I now know they are all American Robins.

The photo brings to mind the expression, "Birds of a feather flock together." Found the following in the dictionary ...

So, it's a proverb, meaning ... people of the same sort or with the same tastes and interests will be found together. Wow, that does sound like what happened last Wednesday on Capitol Hill. What a tragedy!

Now, getting back to my birds, here's a little more info on American Robins. ...

Even earlier in the week, Monday, during a fairly heavy rain, I noticed one of my hummers perched in a tree in the front yard. Even for my 40x Canon SX730HS it's a long zoom down to that branch and without a tripod you'll notice the focus isn't perfect. But it does convey a sense that the little bird is not too happy out there in the rain.

If you enjoy critters like I do check out Eileen's Saturday's Critters. Thanks, Eileen, for hosting and sharing.

To close out this post, here are a couple of sky photos to start off 2021.

First colorful sunset of  '21.
January 3.

January 6, 2021

Closing thought ...

    America is divided by people who think they are right.

2021 - A New Year Dawns

 

2021 is finally here. The image above is not exactly how things look here at John's Island but similar in a few ways. I'm feeling optimistic about the new year. Going to take a break for a while. In the meantime, best regards to you from John's Island. 

(Comments will return with my next post.)