Bluebirds, Part 2

The bluebirds continued to shuttle back and forth from the field to the bird box near my house, bringing caterpillars and grubs to their young. Their harvest can be seen in the photos accompanying this entry. They are like a food-conveyer-belt on wings.










Meanwhile on Sunday, June 21 the grease on the post was disturbed. It was evident, very evident a snake had tried to climb the post and succeeded to some degree. Investigation showed the grease was smeared and nearly non-existent on some of the post. It had been disturbed to within 8 to 10 inches of the box. I was anxious, were my bluebird nestlings still there? I checked, hoping that if any were still there, they wouldn’t fall out of the box. A quick peek gave relief. They were still there, and so I slathered the post afresh with a lot more grease. I probably needed to put a sign up to warn the children next door.










When one considers the number of days the male and female bluebirds have been shuttling back and forth with food (they typically do this for 18 to 21 days), it is quite impressive. They are certainly dedicated to the task and to think they could lose their young to a snake or other predator along the way.

I’ve noticed too that when one bluebird comes to perch on the black locust tree closest to the bluebird box the other bluebird will call after awhile. Then one will swoop down to the bird box to deliver what they have fetched. They show amazing cooperation, taking turns and working together.










On the other hand, if one of the bluebirds detects my presence, it is immediately perceived as a threat. This then causes them to take some evasive action – usually leaving the tree for a more distant tree, or disappearing altogether to return 3 or 4 minutes later.

I suppose it is their nature to survey the bird box each and every time they come to it. Maybe it was first learned and is now second-nature to them. Or maybe it is a trait within their DNA. It seems, given a situation, they already know what they will do.

I had to go out of town for four days, and it appears the nestlings had fledged (approximately 18 days after hatching). They were gone.

At any rate their behavior reminds me of additional scripture that we must learn and internalize as part of our lives:

John 10.10 – Watch for the thief that comes to steal life from us
Proverbs 29.18 – Seek divine guidance
1 Thessalonians 5.17 – Communicate continually with God
Deuteronomy 4.6 – Adhere to God’s advice for life