(A custom bluebird house)
Chris Johnson of Earlysville may have the most prolific bluebirds in Virginia. Maybe anywhere.
Chris told me earlier in the year that two pair nested in his yard for the first time ever. Bluebirds are quite territorial and usually put up a stiff fight for squatter’s rights and sole occupancy, but Chris said the two houses were not within sight of each other, so he ended up with two nesting pairs.
The results?
“The last two nests of bluebirds have departed with one unhatched egg in one house,” Chris said. “That means eight have fledged, four from each house. Now, one of the houses is again occupied. She was watching me as I took a pic this morning. This will be the fourth nesting this summer, three in this house and one in the other. Wow! It’s been a pretty active and productive season.”
We didn’t have such luck at our house. Our nesting pair successfully fledged 4 chicks and the second nest had hatched when a raccoon, I suspect, made a late-night raid.
But it’s good to know that the Johnson house has produced a bumper crop of the pretty blue birds.