it's a bluebird day!

Well, "a bluebird day" is supposed to mean a beautiful day. I can't say it's that today. Low temp was 16F last night. Still snow on the ground. The magnolia blossoms that were just opening have turned mushy brown. And I don't think the forecast is looking very good. But, yippee for the bluebirds! They are beautiful. (So are the gold finches that are turning bright yellow now.)



I'm hoping a bluebird pair will nest in one of my bird boxes this year. Last year I had both my boxes up against the woods on my garden fence. Not a good location for bluebirds, who need at least 80 ft of open area all around their box. So I had house sparrows. This year, I moved one of the nest boxes out to the center of the yard. Not quite 80 ft from the woods, more like 50 I think. But I'm hoping it will be enough. If not, maybe a swallow will like the box.

The bluebird in the picture perched on a post on my patio. I was able to take his picture from the kitchen window. It was the second time I saw him perch there today. The first time I got so excited that the dogs started barking and he was gone before I grabbed my camera. The second time I was very calm and quiet. The dogs didn't know anything was up.