Bluebird, bluebird

A few weeks ago on a beautiful Sunday afternoon the family headed out to a local park to build a bluebird nesting box. Bluebirds are cavity nesters, and with the rapid development of land and the disappearance of their natural habitat, their numbers have been declining. These special boxes give them a safe, dry place to build their nests.

So we built the box, and we took it home and mounted it on a stake just like the directions instructed. We even bought a piece of PVC pipe to put around the bottom to keep snakes and other predators away.


Then we waited. That same week we saw two sets of bluebirds cavorting around the yard. We bought a book of bird calls and learned to identify bluebirds by their song. The kids did a lapbook on bluebirds.We participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. One afternoon V-Man and I sat in a neighbor's driveway and watched the bluebirds fly in and out of the nesting box, and MM made a trail of grapes from the trees to the nesting house for the bluebirds to find their way. Soon, we thought, we'd have little baby bluebirds.

Fast-forward to this morning. The box is constructed so that one side flips open for you to keep an eye on nest-building. We tiptoed up to the box, knocked softly on the side to warn away any birds inside, and flipped open the side. And guess what? We have -----

CHICKADEES. 

Apparently bluebirds use pine straw for their nests, and chickadees use moss. Oh well. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, a bird is a bird is a bird.

Off to study chickadees.