Everyone loves bluebirds, and for good reason. They are beautiful to look at, faithfully provide for their families, and eat thousands of insects that might otherwise damage our gardens. However, a lack of nest sites for these cavity-nesting birds has caused a serious decline in their numbers. If you, like me, would love to have a pair of bluebirds sharing your yard, it helps to know a little about what the birds prefer. How can you make your yard more bluebird-friendly?
Bluebirds prefer to live in trees next to open fields. They perch and nest in the trees, and search for insects in the grass nearby. You can find Eastern and Western Bluebirds in orchards or forests next to meadows, farm fields, or grasslands.
My focus changed because of the town of Karval. With Pikes Peak barely visible on the horizon, this tiny town in Lincoln County, an hour east of Colorado Springs, doesn’t fit the typical person’s image of a vacation destination. Yet, I had a wonderful time there.
While we’re still shoveling snow and scraping windshields, bluebirds are thinking about spring. Colorado has three species of bluebirds, Eastern, Western (seen here) and Mountain, and all of them are what birders call “early nesters.”
“Oh, it’s just another Mallard.”
You can’t miss them. Black-billed Magpies are big, noisy, and distinctive in their black, navy, and white plumage. Their elegant long tails add to the tuxedo effect. They’re basically crows in formal attire.
Here in Colorado, January is a time of muted shades—tan grasses, soft yellow willows, maroon sedges, gray seedheads—and erratic weather. Highs in the 50s are immediately followed by snow or a sub-zero wind-chill. I was craving green leaves, bright colors, tropical humidity against my chapped skin. In the midst of suspended existence, I needed a fix of fecundity. So last Saturday, my husband and I paid a visit to the tropics. We drove to Broomfield, just west of Denver, home of the 
Our recent warm spell is lovely, but it’s still January. Temperatures swing back and forth between cool and freezing. Trails are icy, and sometimes blocked by snow. This is traditionally a time to hole up and hunker down. We are attracted to warm firesides, hot chocolate, and snugly quilts. But if you, like me, are passionate about nature, and birds in particular, can we be content to sit by the fire? Just because the temperature outside is in the single digits, are we to ignore our obsession and hibernate like bears?
Mountain Plover 