It has been quite the spring and summer for me. Part of the reason is seeing three broods of bluebirds. This hatch-year Eastern Bluebird might be one of them.

Hatch year Eastern Bluebird male at a birdbath, Sebastian County, ArkansasHatch year Eastern Bluebird male at a birdbath – – Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1/400, ISO 1600, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 278mm, natural light

This spring and summer, I watched the first brood of baby bluebirds fledge after losing their female parent, possibly to a Cooper’s Hawk.

The male found a new female, and before long, they were incubating the second brood in the nestbox. I didn’t get to see those Eastern Bluebird chicks fledge, but thankfully, I did get to see and photograph them later on.

Then came the surprise of a third brood in the same nestbox! Steve Creek and I wondered if any chicks would survive the extremely warm temps and make it to fledging day. One did! We watched that single chick fledge on the 30th of July.

Since then, the bluebirds have been around but not all that close. Most of the time, I’d see them high in the pines, or I’d just hear them calling softly.

From a distance over the past couple of weeks, I have been watching the young Eastern Bluebirds molt out of their juvenal plumage and have wanted to take photos of them again.

Yesterday, this hatch year bluebird flew in while I was outside with a camera in hand. I didn’t have time to zoom all the way out, so I stood up and took a short series of photos of this young male.

The light wasn’t great because of heavy cloud cover, but I got the shots I wanted.

It’s been fantastic to see Eastern Bluebirds again, and photographing all of the young bluebirds was terrific. Thanks for sharing them with me, Creek!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Eastern Bluebird photos plus facts and information about this species.