Some Happy News

"I met a girl who sang the blues, and I asked her for some happy news...."  

In a previous post I was singing the blues because I was wondering what had happened to our baby bluebirds.  Well, I am delighted to report the happy news that they are doing fine!

This is how they looked on June 14th when I peeked into their nest box:

Then I went away for a week, and when I checked the box after I came home, the babies were gone. It only takes them about a week and a half to be ready to leave the nest, but then the parents keep feeding them for about 3 weeks after they fledge-- so  I kept a close eye out for the three little ones.  I kept watching and watching, but I only saw the adults.  In fact, they seemed quite interested in another one of our nesting boxes.  Were they thinking about having a second brood?

They hung around in our yard as they usually do and I enjoyed seeing them, but I worried about the babies.

Until the Fourth of July, that is... as our family gathered to have a picnic on the back porch, guess who showed up?!! Yep, the three little bluebirds!  I was too busy to get any pictures that evening, but they were still hanging around our garden the next morning.

And they've been hanging around since then, too.  It's been wonderful to step out our back door to watch and listen to them.

They are learning to be like their mama and papa so they fly down from the garden fence into the lawn to try to catch insects.  

However they don't seem to be too good at it yet and papa still feeds them sometimes.

Or shows them what good bugs there are in our garden...

Mama is around, too.  Doesn't she look kind of tired?  It must be quite a job watching over these babies.

They certainly seem to me to have expressive faces (though it's because they keep tilting their heads to watch for insects).

Someday, that little guy will look just like his papa, but for now he still needs to practice his skills to become a graceful bird.  Just watch how he tries to look 'cool' in this video:

Besides sitting on the garden fence, they sometimes sit on the nearby maple tree or the edge of the garage roof.

For now, they seem to like to hang out together.  Often, close together!

"We've got the whole tree, but he's got to sit almost on top of me!"

Although, just like any 'kids' they seem to annoy each other sometimes, too.

"I was here first!"

It's pretty unusual to have all three together for a photo opp.  Two of them look cute in the next photo:

But early this morning I happened to see this...

It kind of looks like they are figuring out what they are going to do today, doesn't it?  Then, off goes one, and the others follow.  

"Let's go!  See you later!"

Now, I'm not singing the blues, I'm singing about the blues...
the baby bluebirds, that is!