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Only you can appreciate my joy

14 years ago

Since we moved to PA I've not been able to attract bluebirds to our mountain retreat, aka our home in the woods. Though I've seen bluebirds in a cemetery up the road. I have bluebird nests (tried & true from our last house) all over, water and suet, we had over 30 trees cut down around the house for more open space (mostly to keep the carpenter ants away from the house), and I planted numerous berry producing shrubs which all produced a large quantity of berries this year for the first time.

Until this past Saturday during a snow storm when during the Christmas bird count I noticed what I thought at first was a titmouse until I got my binoculars out and looked closely. Only to see for the first time in 7 years a female bluebird in "my" back yard. Needless to say everyone in the house knew it and so did everyone on my facebook page. She didn't stay around long, just long enough to check out the offerings. But I knew my backyard was forever imprinted in her brain. My husband joked that she showed up a week too early, he had ordered the bluebirds for my Christmas present. You have to love a husband like this don't you?

Christmas eve, after a lousy day at work and a couple of hours of Christmas shopping, what do you think greeted me in one of those berry laden shrubs right off the deck but a female bluebird. If I don't have any presents under the tree it doesn't matter I've had the best Christmas present ever.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Comments (7)

dave_in_va
14 years ago
Great story Karen. Congratulations! I am so happy for you. Sounds like it may be the start of something good.

Merry Christmas!

Dave
bluebirdbabe
14 years ago
Merry Christmas Karen. And yes, we will all understand your joy in seeing our beloved bluebirds. They sure make u smile after a lousy day don't they? :)

Karen
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put the sparrow trap out yesterday. went to the shed to get the junk seed for bait. over the winter, the darn mice ate it all! went ahead and opened the ends. picked up some seed today, went to bait the trap and found this... two males and one female!! squeee!!! the blues have been checking out both nest boxes, the one in the back yard and the one out front. :)
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griffin_MD
14 years ago
Merry Christmas to you all and congratulations on your bluebird sightings, Karen. May your 2010 be filled with bluebirds!
Kathy
kendra2003
14 years ago
I am so happy for you! Who else but a true Bluebird lover would be checking on a Bluebird forum on Christmas morning. I also got my Christmas gift. The Bluebirds showed up yesterday, and there were eight of them here this morning. What a joy!
rayinri
14 years ago
Thanks for the wonderful Xmas gift from Dave (pic) on these long cold snow covered winter days we long to see our blue friends. I can only hope they are
holding up in a nice warm pine tree or cedar tree. My true xmas gift is when
open nest box's and find four to five little chicks looking up at me. No other
feeling in the world could compare. With no children of my own my birds
fill a nice void for a person full of compassion. Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year to everyone.
Ray
donnalovesblue
14 years ago
Merry Christmas and congratulations. What a wonderful gift! Though not at Christmas, when I first saw the blues checking out a nestbox for the first time in our new home, you'd have thought I'd won the lottery! It's very exciting and I hope they continue to blees you with their presence.

Donna
griffin_MD
14 years ago
You're absolutely right about nestbox monitoring, Ray. It feels like Christmas each and every time I open a nestbox--I never know what I'm going to find . . . the beginning of a nest, that first egg, brand new hatchlings or those beautiful babies hunched down pretending to be invisible, it's always a thrill.
Kathy

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