I was out watering and noticed the blues were ganging up on a mocking bird who was just looking for breakfast on the ground, and I thought maybe something was going on -- I'd been expecting them to fledge any day now, and they haven't been so agressive before -- so I watched a bit and sure enough saw one little guy head for the pecan tree with the parents on either side. Then another one and OH NO! Right smack into a wad of webworms!!!!!! Like most in Oklahoma we are struggling with webworms right now and this little guy smacked right into a nest. Trapped. He flapped awhile then went still.

I couldn't believe it, so ran to get a closer look. He'd stopped fighting and had one wing stuck "up" and one down, and his head was covered, well above my reach. (can I tell you how my heart was racing?) So I ran back in the house and hollered at DH that we had a baby bluebird emergency, and he got a ladder and mop, and got up into that branch and pulled it closer with the mop with one hand and pulled the baby out with the other and handed him down to me. The other fledgling watched the whole thing from another branch, and the parents didn't argue or dive bomb or anything, just sat by in another tree. Little guy stayed very still and looked right at me while I got the nasty dry sticky TOUGH webs off his beak and wings, then DH got some more off, then back to me, and I was working on his feet- The plan was to get this done as fast as possible then put him in the tree near the other fledgling but as soon as I got one foot clear he took off to the sycamore!!! yay!

So after this drama I sat a little distance from the box and watched the last one leave. They finally all got collected to the same tree (this last one ended up on the roof of my house, then the parents both went to him and then showed him where they wanted him to go - it was great).

Scary and - I'm so glad we were home and saw it, and honored to have held one in my hand, and so happy so see how strongly he flew away. What a morning!!!