Bluebirds of happiness. . . . . . . . .

The past few days have been sunny and quite a bit warmer giving some respite

 from the bitterly cold we experienced earlier. Weather in the southeast is strange

 as to how it can change so rapidly. Today the barometer is already at 60F early

 in the morning, so different from the 10F reading at the beginning of this week.

We're not coddling the garden birds quite as much - no rows of seeds along the

 porch railing in addition to filling feeders and suet holders, no buckets of hot water

 being sloshed into the icy birdbaths several times a day.

They are managing fine, still singing in the bare fig tree and scuffling about in the

 leaf mold...........and now and then I'm able to get some unexpected photos such as

 these from a couple of days ago when of a pair of beautiful bluebirds arrived together

 for a few fleeting moments in the back garden.

These birds are non-migrators in the Carolinas, feeding mostly on insects and fruit, 

but also come to suet and seed feeders in winter months. 

Interesting fact - a pair will have two broods of 4-5 a year and the young from 

the first brood help raise the young of the second.

Eastern Bluebird: Sialia sialis

Easy to tell apart, the deeper blue of the male is somewhat faded in winter, and the

 more grayish female only ever has touches of pale blue on tail and wings, both have rusty

 red breasts and white bellies

To think this lovely bird was nearly eliminated from the Carolinas due to lack of
 natural nesting cavities as trees were felled and farmland built upon. However, with
 the aid of bird enthusiasts who put up thousands of bluebird boxes, they have made
 a remarkable comeback - thank goodness! 

"There's a bluebird on my shoulder" says the song, well not quite, but they do 

frequent my garden and that makes me happy.