The sky darkened, the thunder rumbled, and my daughter’s voice rang out from the other room, “Mom! The baby bluebirds are in the backyard!”
With super-human speed (I could be the next Avenger) I finished flipping the half-baked chicken I was making for dinner and hurried outside with my camera. I tried to stay as close as I could to the side of the house, hoping this would keep the camera lens dry and somehow make me a less likely target for the lightning that was flashing about. Now, I realize my logic was far from impeccable, but hey, this was the first appearance of the season for these baby bluebirds!
Baby number one was perched on the black iron hook, waiting for Mom to arrive with some food.
When she returned, the slippery surface did not make for a graceful landing.
Baby number two was waiting on one of the branches attached to my deck.
I wish I could have captured Mom’s arrival with clarity, but the blur makes it look like a scene from a scary movie!
She gave her youngster a glob of Bark Butter and then caught her breath (A Mom’s work is never done!) before heading off to the next mouth to feed.
Youngster number three was getting drenched as he waited on a nearby branch.
But Mom finally showed up and gave him some food too.
My daughter said she thought there were four babies, but by the time I got outside, there were only three. The fourth might have flown off with the Dad, since he didn’t make an appearance.
Because of the darkness brought on by the storm, I had to use a slow shutter speed, a wide open aperture, and an obscenely high ISO (those words are new to my vocabulary and make me feel like a real photographer!) which made for fuzzy photos. I am hoping these little ones return and I can get some shots in better lighting, but in the meantime, here’s one last picture from yesterday’s visit.
Backyard Bird Nerd 
Oh, those baby bluebirds are absolutely magical! With those “spangles” and the emerging ultramarine blue, that is some serious Bird Bling! 🙂
They really are cuties!
Lovely photos Kathy! Like those speckled baby feathers. 😊
Thank you. These little ones are captivating.
Oh I fell in love with the third one. Kathy, your work belongs in Birds and Blooms, or a similar periodical. It’s really fine stuff. You get amazing closeups. Love these babies! Big hug to your daughter for giving you the heads up also. 🙂
The third youngster seems to be the favorite. And wow – thanks for the affirmation. 🙂
My pleasure! 🙂
Great shots and timing! So wonderful to see these little ones out and about.
I have been waiting for them to show up. Was so happy to see them. 🙂
Lovely set Kathy … i have a soft spot for these birds and can only get to admire them when photographers like yourself post shots of them as we don’t get them here … love youngster 3 shot number 8 looking all forlawn and sorry for itself getting drenched … hehe … I also liked the behaveral shots of the busy mum feeding the youngster’s 🙂
I was so excited that they showed up! And youngster number 3 seems to indeed be the favourite (which I spelled that way just for you!).
Such a good mom! Great shots Kathy and you do sound like a professional!
The bluebird parents stay busy! I get exhausted just watching them. 🙂
Oh, this is so sweet! ❤ Mum is very busy indeed 🙂
They are so much fun to watch. 🙂
What a fantastic experience, getting to see the babies being fed! You did a spectacular job capturing the moments, despite the weather conditions. Oh, the things we bird brained people will do to record those special moments!! 🙂
Really great shots, Kathy. Despite your light limitations the beaks and eyes of those babies seem to be in sharp focus, and that’s what viewers seem to want. I assume you had your lens open as wide as it goes — what do you consider an obscenely high ISO? Depends on the camera, but I can get away with 3200 with my new Canon now.
This was with the SX50…and the ISO was at 4000 with a shutter speed of 1/80sec. I had a lot of blurry rejects!