When Nature made the bluebird she wished to propitiate both the sky and the earth, so she gave him the color of the one on his back and the hue of the other on his breast…He is the peace-harbinger; in him the celestial and terrestrial strike hands and are fast friends.
~John Burroughs, The Bluebird, 1867

Eastern Bluebird male

They are a favorite bird of so many people. This one made a brief appearance the other morning while I was photographing birds out near the feeding station. He warbled a couple of notes from a high perch, then dropped down to look at some berries along the fence, and quickly returned to the sky.

Eastern Bluebird

I learned a lot about these beautiful birds from an amazing man, ironically named Jack Finch, for whom these birds were a passion. He started a business that built thousands of bluebird boxes and was instrumental in helping restore populations throughout North Carolina. He truly left a mark in the world of Bluebird conservation before he left us. This one is for you, Jack.

What really makes my day is to get up early in the morning, just as the sun comes up, and hear bluebirds….
~ Jack Finch