Almost time to fledge

Two days ago, on 9 June 2015, I went for a drive SW of the city, along my "usual" backroads. I had been watching a pair of Mountain Bluebirds and, while waiting for them to make an appearance again, I suddenly noticed two little beaks push through the hole in the nesting box. A few seconds later, this baby Bluebird poked its head through the hole and took a look at the big, big world beyond its cozy little nest. Such a cute little thing!

I have only ever once seen baby Bluebirds that have fledged and that was a number of years ago, when I happened to spot them down on the ground, in the grasses. Usually, they are there one day and then gone the next and I don't see them again till the next year. Yesterday, I did the drive again and was happy to see that the little family had not yet left. Maybe today will be the day, which means that I know I will do the drive again : ) As usual, I noticed flashes of blue near quite a few nest boxes.

In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...