Mountain Bluebird fledgling

Yesterday, 16 July 2016, I needed to go for a short drive. I had finally got my winter tires replaced with my all-season tires and I had to drive a few kilometers before getting the wheels retorqued. I have an upcoming long day drive with my daughter and didn't want to drive on lug-nuts that needed tightening. So, off I went SW of the city, covering my usual roads. It had been a little while since I last went there, partly because of my weekend trip to Waterton Lakes National Park and partly because of all the thunderstorms and rain we have been getting recently. Today is the final day of the Calgary Stampede - wonder how all the wet, thundery days have affected attendance this year.

There was not a whole lot to be seen on my drive, though I was happy that one of my usual Wilson's Snipes was standing on a fence post, posing beautifully like it always does. I could also see a very, very distant Black Tern youngster being fed by an adult. A few Red-winged Blackbirds were still in the area.

I had checked what time the tire place closed on a Saturday, so I knew my time was limited. However, on the return drive, I spotted a Mountain Bluebird and then another and another .... I was thrilled to bits to finally see a fledgling (and its siblings). Usually, the families that I follow disappear overnight and I never get to see the young ones out of the nest box. I just made it to the tire place before it closed!

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...