Figure 1 – Eastern Bluebrd male, Sudbury, MA Dec. 30, 2018. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

I consider myself quite blessed that each winter the Eastern Bluebirds, Sialia sialis, visit my backyard trees and feeders. This passed weekend there was quite a flutter of them and I took advantage of a wonderful winter sunlight to capture the image of a male with deep blue plumage.

There is a majestic, thrilling magic to the bluebird. I feel content and complete each year when they return to my feeders. It would be too simple to talk to you and offer up quotes about the bluebird of happiness. To birders of my generation the expert field guide were always those of Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996) – drawings not photographs. So let me share instead the words that Peterson chose for his epitaph, which really defines why people are so drawn to the avian world.

“Birds are the most vivid expression of life.”

Canon T2i with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens at 310 mm, ISO 1600, Aperture Priority AE Mode, 1/500th sec at f/7.1 with -1 exposure compensation.