Dan's Feathursday Feature: Eastern Bluebird

You know those photo-shopped images, where the entire photo is monochrome except for one specific area, maybe a red flower, or a colorful dress? Well, these are not that type of photo. I don't even own Photoshop. The pastel-soft beauty of the Eastern Bluebird, against the drab gray of a typical hardwood forest in early spring, is simply stunning. More than once I've found myself just standing and staring, taking it in, like a piece of art in a gallery.

In my experience, Eastern Bluebirds tend to be birds of the forest fringes, where the trees meet a grassy area. During summer, it’s common to see them drop from the lower branches of trees into the grass, grab an insect, then flit quickly back up to the tree, over and over again—like miniature Blue Angels putting on their little air show along the forest edge.

But in my opinion the Eastern Bluebird is at its most beautiful when it gracefully displays its understated elegance in the gray shadows of a leafless forest in early spring.

Enough said. What a beautiful bird.

Dan's Feathursday Feature is a weekly contribution to the COS blog featuring the thoughts, insights and pictures of Chicago birder, Dan Lory on birds of the Chicago region.