Donna,
Those are beautiful blues.....and beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing.
My blues have been looking pretty rough lately. But they are still beautiful! Their visits are sporadic. They seem to show up in larger groups, along with some very noisy finches! Again, thanks for sharing your pics!
Mac

Hi Donna,

Beautiful photos. (Ha... They look so like ours! :)

We're grateful to still see our blues everyday too, tho their presence here is not so constant now. I suspect we'll be missing them for awhile soon. I hope you can host a pair in your yard next season... you deserve that with your tending to them all even in the park.

I've been posting a few photos of ours nearly every day, even tho they all have been looking so pitifully ragged from their moulting. We like to look back over time to see how much they change their appearance thruout the season.

Anyway, good shooting and thanks for letting us see your birds.

Kenn :)

Here is a link that might be useful: A Season of Bluebirds in St.Louis

Donna, these are great photos, I never tire of looking at bluebird photographs, they just seem to brighten my day. I only hope that I'll get them to nest in my yard next spring so I can share some photos too!

Ken, would you mind very much if I used a couple of your bluebird photos for my desktop at work and at home. I love looking at your photos of them, you have some great shots! I will totally understand if you don't want me to.

Thank you,
Linda

Hi Linda,

We're always pleased when our photos are used for any personal or educational purpose. We change our own desktop photos frequently, and seeing them inside brightens our every day also.
It's nice to think someone else is enjoying them too. :)

Thanks for looking, and best luck next nesting season.

Kenn

Beautiful photos, as always Donna! I sure hope they do come back and nest for you next season. Sure sounds promising! Will keep my fingers crossed for you!

BTW, I just adore your "Bathing Beauties" series! Some of the best shots of blues at the bird bath I've ever seen. That must have been a hoot to watch! :)

Donna, beautiful photos of your babies. The Little girl looks rusty all over. The color variations in both of the girl and boy are so interesting. I love these. Hope you don't mind if I use them as desktop background.
Tammy

Thanks everyone!

Bonkers, I LOVE watching any birds in the birdbath as they are so comical but the Blues of course are my favorite. It is a hoot to watch them. It was funny when the one little one seemed to be telling mom to back off as it wasn't finished yet.

Tammy, you sure can use any of them as your desktop. Here is another I took the next day of two of the boys....

Donna

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Our bluebird have been gone for months now :( I can't wait til next spring and hope we're lucky to get some more.

It's so fun to watch the babies - they are so clutzy. ENjoy!

Patty

Looking at these photos reminds me I don't have any trees in my little dinky back yard in my little trailer park. Everybody in the little trailer park has a tree near their trailer except me, well I can't complain too much, because of damage to trailers from wind storms etc. But anyway I just got an idea, I think I might go out into the woods near by and drag back some long 20 footer tree branch or something like that and strap it to a side of post or conduit pipe and maybe the various birds will come more often and roost in my little square.
Keith

Good idea Keith. The branch my Blues are in is a dead one I took from the woods and attached near my deck so I could get closer up photos of the birds in a more natural setting. It is still about 17 feet from the house though. Dave in VA told us all this secret two years ago, I think.

Donna

Donna:
Well thanks for letting me know, I guess the idea isn't nothing new. This summer I bought a cordless remote control so I could set the tripod and camera outside and click away. At first I couldn't get it working so went on the Internet and found out others had the same problem, it turned out the battery was wrapped in plastic, well anyway I set it up near a humming bird feeder and clicked away, every time the camera clicked the humming birds would jump a foot in the air and then come back. Not to good for taking good pictures of them, anyway relocated tripod about 10 foot or so and that worked fine. Hopefully soon I'll find out how far from camera this thing works.
Keith

WOW where does one get a remote??? Do they work for any camera???
That sounds GREAT
I WANT ONE!!!

Donna, you don't use a remote do you?

Donna, how do you attach the branch to your deck. Cher over at the other forum does this too. I need to do it!
Tammy

Debbie321,
I got it off of ebay, if your taking pictures with a Digital SLR you probably can get one, for a non SLR probably not, But anyway you would check on ebay under Digital camera accessories > remote controls. I found my camera model but couldn't find one for a relative.
Keith

thanks Keith,
I dont know what a SLR is. I guess I need to study digital cameras huh?
I want to get a great camera for next year.
Kenn suggested one - so I am watching on Ebay for a great deal.
Any advice on cameras will sure be welcome.
After spending my first season with Blues, I am hooked and want to get some great pics!!

Tammy, I don't have a remote, don't think my camera accepts one. I just shoot through the window near the branch. I don't actually attach the branch to the deck but I think Dave uses a clamp to attach his. I use two smaller round fence posts and and push them into the ground where I want the branch (it is actually a piece of brush so it goes up and then branches off) then I tie the branch to the fence posts. Mine is probably a 8-9 foot piece of brush. I had thought of putting one in a flower pot with small rocks and then having the base with wheels so I could move it around the deck but I haven't done that one yet. I have the mealworm feeder on the deck to the front and left of the branch. Works great for pics and all different birds end up using it.

Donna

Didn't think you had a remote.
Thanks for the ideas on attaching the branch. I don't have any good window to take photos from. And no, my bathroom window won't work. LOL One window is my kitchen window but the sink is in the way. Another is my sliding glass door, but I just have a cement patio out there, no deck. And I do take photos of the birds eating out of the mealworm feeder from that window, but couldn't get any "branch" type photos. And my best window in my family room has a film on it to keep the sun out, which makes it impossible to photograph from it. I try to sit out and take photos, but the birds aren't used to me I guess and never come back once I'm out.
Tammy

Debbie 321
Ok debbie you made me go look up the definition of a SLR, didn't like it, Anyway there are two types of cameras:
One is a point and shoot,they are small, limited in accessories, and you can not change the lens on them, though some will zoom out there quiet far and some you can get add on lens, generally a lens that screws on the end of the camera lens, generally enlarging the image to twice the size.
They are cost effective and some are really good, I don't have one but have been thinking of getting a good cheap one to take landscape pictures.

The other one an SLR, is a Single reflex Camera, that's the official definition, basically what you see through the viewfinder is what you get. The image comes through the lens and is bounced off a mirror, when you look through the view finder you actually see the mirror, and what you see is what you get. I've always consider an SLR as being a camera that you can take the lens off and put on another lens, but under the definition there are some point and shoot that could be consider an SLR. Most SLR's you can buy a bunch of accessories for them. The only thing about them though is they cost about 3-4 times the cost of a point and shoot.

I hope that explain a little about what an SLR is.

Let me add there are some remote controls that use the same technology as a TV remote, an IR light, which you can't see. You have to point the remote at the camera as you do a TV, They are ok for cameras when your looking at the front of camera, but are a waste of money if you've got the camera pointed out a window, and your behind the camera. Almost impossible to get that IR beam to reflect off of something and hit the camera sensor. That's something I learned the hard way, believe me I tried positioning mirrors in front of the camera, never could get it just right.

Keith