Blue Macro Monday

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of bluebirds visiting my deck again. I've been looking for them every day since then, but they haven't returned. Yet.
Today, I thought I'd share a few of the 1000+ photos I took that day. Some were pretty good, in my opinion. Most were not. But they were all thrilling.

This is the closest I have to a true macro shot.











In most places, this is a good time to put up bluebird nesting boxes. I just put up one box and have two others to put up soon. Bluebird boxes can be bought many places, but I found our local Lowe's had a super price on them. If you like bluebirds and dislike bugs, I highly recommend placing nesting boxes around your property. Around here, if you don't wind up with a family of bluebirds, you'll likely get a family of House Wrens. They're adorable and eat bugs, too.

As always, click on any photo for a closer look. Don't forget to stop by Lisa's Chaos and Smiling Sally to see what macro and blue things this Monday brings.

-Susan

Blue Macro Monday

I had an unusual visitor to my deck last week. Before Christmas, I placed large quantities of Eastern Red Cedar boughs all over my deck. The branches were covered in blue berries which the birds just love. I'd read that Eastern Bluebirds were especially fond of them. Christmas eve, I got to watch bluebirds eating blue berries at a family get-together. I cut and placed the cedar on my deck, but no bluebirds came. Many other birds visited, perched upon the branches, and even ate some berries. Because of the blue berries, I even had a Cedar Waxwing visit the deck once. But no bluebirds. Eastern Bluebirds are often seen around here, but they are nervous. I most often see them flying from trees to power lines in yards as I am driving. Blue has always been a favorite color of mine and bluebirds have always been a favorite bird.

Well, on Groundhog's Day, a blue bird arrived! After just a few minutes, he even invited some friends! So, for a few hours one afternoon, I got to watch bluebirds from the comfort of my couch. It was thrilling! I tried to photograph them, of course. Unfortunately, bluebirds are nervous enough, I knew I would have stay inside to photograph them. As a result, all of these photographs, except of the blue berries alone, were taken through the window. The first is for Macro Monday.
They all are for Blue Monday. Enjoy!

The valuable little blue berries.


Mr. Eastern Bluebird



You looking at me?


Here comes Mrs. Eastern Bluebird.




Little Carolina Chickadee is supervising.


The female bluebird is beautiful in a muted way. I think it's also evident from looking at her that bluebirds and American Robins are cousins- both in the thrush family.



Dirty glass really adds that special something to your photos.

Look at the berry in his beak!

American Goldfinches for size comparison.

The above photo was too blurry for my tastes, so I made it even blurrier by attempting to simulate an oil painting. I think I like it.

The filthy window softened and blurred this image a bit.

As always, click on any photo for a closer look. Don't forget to stop by Lisa's Chaos and Smiling Sally to see what macro and blue things this Monday brings.

-Susan