This male Eastern Bluebird is my new "King of the Hilll". He retunred to my yard this fall, with, I assume his sister, and two other females, thought to also be his family members. Sadly, his father, my resident male of five years, did not make the return trip. When the four arrived, I immediately rang the "dinner bell", and they all flew right up to their familiar mealworm feeder. I have been feeding them, daily, since. They have me very well trained! lol On arrival, the younger two, still had their juvenile plumage, but soon after, went through their first molt, into their adult attire. By the third week in Feb., while much of the nation was still under snow, My bluebirds had already completed two nests. At present, one female is incubating four eggs, and I expect to be a "Bluebird Grandma", again, this next week-end. Life is good! :)
I hope this one brings a smile to Alan Murphy's face. I do have his wonderful Songbird Set Up CD, but had already beeen putting to use many of his tips, from taking a workshop from hiim, previously. I was thrilled to see him put a Bluebird on the front cover of his CD...my favorite bird! Thank You, Alan!
This image was shot, using my Canon Rebel XTi and 100-400 lens, a monopod, ISO 400, f/8, 1/1ooo, - 1/3 exp. comp, no flash. It was at a focal length of 340mm. It is cropped, to hide the stand, holding the flowering perch. I do not need a blind in my yard with my Blluebirds. They will land very close to me. :)
Great to have cooperative models. :) I like the eye contact and angle, the setup and BG look good, too. I might increase the saturation of the bird a bit.
Lovely picture, well composed and executed. Nice story too. Interesting that you can identify individual birds. Do they have unique feather patterns or other markings that let you tell?
Nice shot - the perch really makes it! We've had a pair return to our boxes just this week and start poking around with a nest. A little early for N. Illinois!
Thank you for the nice comments. Regarding Randy's question with being able to identify the individual birds...Here goes :) Sorry, it may be lengthy.
Ofcourse without the birds being banded, which they are not, you can not absolutely be certain they are the same birds. But I would come close to betting my life on it, at least that the same male was in my yard for 4-6 years. (I asume to be the father of the bird pictured, here) I am with these birds almost evey day of the year. They only leave for a brief time, after they finish their nesting season, which in my yard, is generally late July-Aug. One year, the longest I went without seeing "Mr. Bluebird" was six days, but generally they will be gone for 3-8 weeks. Bluebirds, like most birds are territorial, and will return to the area they hatched. If that territory is claimed, they will start searching in the vicinity for their own turf and a good place to raise a family. I would not be surprised if many of the other bluebirds, I see in my neighborhood, were related to this same bluebird. If I am walking, and see a bluebird perched on a power line, it will blast off, before I get near, but "my Mr. Bluebird", that I fed mealworms regularly, would sometimes land within ten feet of me. There is no way, an unfamiliar bluebird would come that close. I also have watched a territorial fight, when a small roaming gypsy flock of bluebirds entered my yard. My Bluebird tore after them and battled with one in mid flight, locked together, falling to the ground, like a downed hellicopter, where the fight continued. (it was very colorful!) After that, I never saw those other bluebirds, again. My Bluebird was not about to give up his territory. When the four bluebirds appeared this fall, I could tell the juvenile male and female apart from each other by their plumage. Since they molted, I cannot tell the three females, apart, at all. For several years, only having one male and one female, it was much easier.
I have many other stories, that would make you a believer...maybe another time;)
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