American Goldfinch pair

In the evening of 29 June 2015, a small group of us met at 6:30 pm and went SW of the city with Don Stiles, who has been a dedicated Mountain Bluebird Monitor for something like 38 years! It was around 10:00 pm when I arrived home. The light was not good for photos, at least not with my camera, and the later it got and the light faded, the worse they turned out. The last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed that many of my photos are not turning out how I would have expected. There seems to be a somewhat green cast on some of them, too, along with being grainy. I always dread the year and a half mark with any camera I buy – that is when a few things start not working the same.

This drive is an annual trip along Don’s Bluebird Route. We get the chance to see Mountain Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and Wrens nesting in various wooden nesting boxes along the country roads. Some boxes have eggs in the nest, others have tiny babies all packed tightly together. One of the boxes had a female Tree Swallow adult in it, too, and, as it hadn't been banded before, Don demonstrated how he carefully puts a metal band around the tiny leg.

At the one particular Bluebird box, Mom and Dad were waiting nearby, insects in their beaks ready to feed their babies as soon as we had finished. They are such good parents.

Along the route, we saw a few other birds and animals, including this very distant pair of beautiful American Goldfinches, various Blackbirds and a few ducks. We were lucky to see several Elk, too, that were wild

Many thanks, as always, Don, for letting us come along with you. It is an evening I look forward to every year, and I could tell how much everyone enjoyed themselves!