DISCUSSING BLUEBIRDS

Tonight the Dubuque Audubon Society had a program about bluebirds. Jessica Carryer from the Joe Davis Conservation Foundation over in Illinois discussed everything from habitat, how to monitor a bluebird nest box, to all other aspects of conservation of this beautiful bird species with the audience. It was very interesting and gave me and other members of the Audubon Society new ideas for our own conservation efforts.

I thought this was a good reason to present you another photo from a shooting in July with my photography friend Kevin, who is also very active building and monitoring bluebird nest boxes.

This male Eastern Bluebird tried to lure the nestlings out of the box with a good size insect in its bill, but he little guys were not ready to leave that day. The location of Kevin’s bluebird box was perfect. The birds liked it obviously and it was very “photography friendly”, which allowed us to shoot with natural light from a safe distance, and without a bright sky or distracting background.

NATURE CLICKS #319 - EASTERN BLUEBIRD

Here is another visitor of the “backyard studio”, a male Eastern Bluebird. It came actually not alone, a female joined the bird bath as well, but they sat so far apart from each other that I decided to focus on either one of them separately. We have never seen them eating at a bird feeder yet but obviously they enjoy the heated bird bath. It isn’t the first time that we saw Eastern Bluebirds here in February. I know it is silly to say that, with all the snow on the ground at the moment, but when the bluebirds show up here, spring is not that far anymore… (Can you tell we are a little tired of winter ??)…😉

NATURE CLICKS #281 - EASTERN BLUEBIRD

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

The moment when I saw the male bluebird hesitating and waiting I knew I was too close to its nest. There was a nest box a few yards behind me but I really thought it was not in use. I immediately backtracked away from the nest and let both parents feed their offspring. This picture of the bluebird with a grasshopper in its beak was taken later from the other side of this dead tree with a big bush between me and the nest. Both bluebirds used the dead birch as a perch before the approached the nest site. I wasn’t actually at Finley’s Landing at the Mississippi for the bluebirds this evening but had some hope to make a shot of the Belted Kingfisher. I saw the kingfisher several times but distance was too big for a decent photo. Coming back home with a photo of an Eastern Bluebird on the memory card isn’t too bad either, isn’t it?