Bluebird of Happiness

The BLUE-BIRD carries the sky on his back.  –Henry David Thoreau

Flashes of blue can be seen in our yard at any time of the day.  This is the first year a pair of Eastern Bluebirds has used one of our bluebird houses for their grassy nest.  We have four houses placed around the yard, but the location has to be just right for bluebirds.  The house wrens are not so picky so have usurped a number of the bluebird houses, even though they have their own petite abodes in the maple trees.  Bluebirds can have more than one successful brood each year, so this one in mid-July may be their second brood.

Both the brightly colored male and the more subdued female hunt for insects to feed their young.  They perch high on electric lines, in trees, or on posts.  They spy their prey from sixty or more feet away, then swoop to the ground to grab the unsuspecting insect and quickly fly back to their perch.  Most of the time, the parents alight on their house or on a nearby post right before flying into the nest with the food.  

Countless insects of all sorts are delivered to the babies’ gaping mouths…

…and just three days later, they have opened their eyes and developed more feathers.  Sixteen to twenty-one days after hatching, these helpless chicks will fly from the nest.

Bluebirds have long been a symbol of happiness, hope, and renewal.  Legends, poems, plays, songs, and stories have been written about the inspiring bluebird.  What is it about these beautiful little thrushes that have aroused such appeal and even have prompted a National Bluebird of Happiness Day on September 24th?  They are a welcome harbinger of spring after a long, cold winter.  Their brilliant azure color is uncommon in the natural world, so the flashes of blue are noticeable against the green.  The population of bluebirds severely declined up to the late 1970’s due to loss of nesting habitat and nest competition from starlings and sparrows.  The North American Bluebird Society was formed in 1978 to place bluebird nesting boxes across the country, and since then the bluebird population has recovered.  Do we appreciate something even more once it was almost lost?  Or is it the feeling of a blue-sky day, when the air is crisp and clear and the sun warm upon our faces, that is evoked when we look at the sky the bluebird carries on his back?  When I see the flash of blue, I feel a deep happiness to have such beautiful birds living in our yard.  When I see the parents working so hard to provide food for their babies, I feel hope that another generation will populate our natural world.  And I carry that happiness and hope to you so that we may all experience soul-filling renewal.  What do you carry on your back for the whole world to see?