Eastern Bluebird of Happiness

One of my odd goals is to be able to identify birds. It’s a pretty ill-defined goal, and not a very serious one, since I only think of it about ten minutes after I say, “Oh, that’s a pretty bird.” But about this time of the year, my yard is full of them. Maybe they’re migrating and on their way back north. Maybe they’re just hanging out here for the winter. Maybe my yard just has very delicious birdy treats. I don’t know. But, I notice them a lot more these days.

I had to take down the bird feeder because the squirrels were getting downright paunchy. And audacious, too. One evening I went outdoors to refill it, and the little rodents were lined up, waiting for the chow line to open. Plus, they’re messy eaters, and would spill seeds all over the place, which attracted their verminous cousins, who moved into my house. Ick. Cartoon rats are all good and well, but when the real ones move into your house and start eating your electrical system, the charm fades quickly. So my backyard birds have to make do with nature’s abundance, not mine.

But they seem to be thriving. Flocks of red-winged blackbirds cover the ground around the time sun sets. Yeah, rare bird, as rare as pigeons in New York City, but it took me several trips to my bird guides and the great Cornell website before I really believed they were red-winged blackbirds. With my birds, you can’t see the red hardly at all when they’re standing around feeding. As soon as they’re startled and take off, then you see the red, and it’s a glorious sight.

Today I took a friend’s daughter to the park for a walk, and we took the binoculars and spotted an eastern bluebird. He was very kind, and flitted about to different nearby branches to give us a good look at him. He was the bird celebrity of our walk. We saw cardinals and robins and sparrows, of course, but they’re easy. The bluebird? He was pretty special on chilly gray day.