Feeding Baby Blue Bird

Dad! Dad! Over here!!!

Isn't this sweet? Daddy Bluebird is feeding junior a fuzzy, mouthwatering caterpillar! Nummy! Both parents share the task of feeding their three to six offspring.

Every 15 to 20 minutes, mom and dad feed each baby caterpillars, mealworms, spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, or even berries that are in season. Like most species of birds, they are dedicated parents with a demanding job!!!This baby might be as large as it's parent, but an easy way to tell it's a young one is by the white ring around each eye, and the spotted breast. This little dude will soon be foraging for himself.

Bluebirds are very clean animals, tossing bird turds, and the shells--after their darlings have hatched!--far away from the nesting site. As is the case in most species, the male is brightly colored, while the female dons duller, bluish-gray feathers. --LKR

Below is a cute little poem by Mariam Kirby:

In summer, juicy insects crawl
On leaves and through the grass.
I feast on bugs until late fall
Then catch them less and less.
Soon winter comes with snow and ice
And winds all in a flurry.
The bugs are gone, but in their place,
a berry February!

Dragonfly

To my delight, dragonflies are plentiful in our yard in Eau Claire, WI, just as they were back in Villa Park, IL. We have Lowes Creek very close by, here, and plenty of insects for them to feast on. This is great, as long as they don't go after any of our butterflies!

If you click on the picture, you can see this dragonfly enjoying his newly caught meal. He is perched on top of one of our dead trees that we lost over the winter (due to a dry fall where the ground didn't freeze...). --LKR