{"id":85219,"date":"2020-05-15T06:43:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T12:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=85219"},"modified":"2020-05-15T07:03:52","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T13:03:52","slug":"male-mountain-bluebird-and-progress-with-his-natural-nest-cavity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/15\/male-mountain-bluebird-and-progress-with-his-natural-nest-cavity\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Mountain Bluebird And Progress With His Natural Nest Cavity"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have something in common with this hard working bluebird and his mate – home improvements.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/2500, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the male Mountain Bluebird I photographed in the mountains (appropriately) a couple of weeks ago as he perched on an old snaggy branch almost directly in front of the cavity he and his mate were attempting to build a nest.in. A second pair of bluebirds and a persistent House Wren kept trying to take over their nest cavity so the rightful owners were forced to spend much of their time perched here and on other nearby branches guarding the cavity rather than building their nest.<\/p>\n

When this photo was taken he may have been looking directly at the cavity, as he so often was.<\/p>\n

When I first looked at this image last night I thought the dark round spot at upper right on the out of focus aspen tree was their nest cavity but I now believe I was wrong. The cavity is actually about the same distance away from the bluebird but it’s in another aspen just out of frame to the right.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Readers will likely remember this photo I posted recently that includes the nest cavity and the shadow of one of the bluebirds guarding it. It was taken on the same morning as the previous photo. I’m including it here because it’s the only relatively good photo I took that morning and saved that clearly shows the cavity entrance.<\/p>\n

Notice that at this point no evidence of the actual nest inside the cavity can be seen. Either the bluebirds had just begun to build their nest or their competitors were preventing them from working on it much. Likely both.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But six days later (May 5) when I visited the bluebirds once again the cavity appeared to be nearly stuffed full of nesting material so in the interim they’d been a couple of extremely busy homeowners. At least one of the bluebirds was still in the area and I suspect its mate may have been inside the cavity incubating eggs. While I was there I saw neither hide nor feather of the competing bluebird pair or the pesky wren.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This morning the thought that I have exhausting home improvements in common with these bluebirds keeps going through my mind. The difference is the fact that compared to this aging homeowner the bluebirds are relative spring chickens.<\/p>\n

I spent almost the entirety of the last two days trying to resuscitate part of an antiquated and poorly designed lawn sprinkler system that had a burst PVC pipe in the middle of a line and sprinkler heads and lines that had been destroyed by sidewalk replacement and tree removal. Adding two new sprinkler heads only complicated the process and made it more exhausting.<\/p>\n

Last night and even this morning my 73 year old body feels like its been repeatedly run over by a Mack truck. If I never see a shovel or PVC pipe again it will be far too soon.<\/p>\n

I presume the bluebirds are in better shape.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Personal notes:<\/em><\/p>\n