Bluebird Season is Nigh: I’m Just Waiting On A Friend

This is the kind of post that needs a soundtrack so click here then come back and read.

I’ve been trying to come up with a lead-in to this post for 24 hours. How do I capture what I’m experiencing this week as the morning sun shines on an empty nestbox in my backyard?  I think I finally have it.

The Rolling Stones I’m Just Waiting On A Friend seems about right.

It sums up the simple pleasure and anticipation of waiting on a friend, someone who brings you nothing but joy and amusement. The song rolls along contentedly, like a spring walk over moist earth, and conjures images of a man ambling along in the afternoon, watching crowds passing by, waiting to spot the one he wants.

The one I want, of course, is the pair of bluebirds that nested in my yard last summer.

I'm just waiting on a friend...

You may recall the post I wrote about these late-nesters,which showed up last July. The whole experience of putting up a nestbox in our small, somewhat unlikely backyard was a classic case of If You Build It, They Will Come.

The season ended with some drama that’s keeping me on edge for this year. A pair of House Sparrows commandeered a flicker box that we’d place high out of reach on our barn early last season. By the time the bluebirds laid eggs, the family and its chicks engaged in some serious hazing of our bluebirds.

I repeatedly saw the sparrows trying to chase bluebird parents off the box and tried to spend as much time as possible outside to ward off any passerine monkey business. As my box is not in view of a window, though, it was difficult.

Luckily, the bluebirds were able to fledge all their chicks, but I have to be on FULL alert this season. I’ve been researching various methods of House Sparrow control, such as House sparrow traps and stringing monofilament line around the box to repel sparrows, but not other nesters.

I’ve decided to try the monofilament line method this year, and will let you know how that goes.

Meanwhile, I hope you’re enjoying the anticipation of spring and the nesting birds it brings.

Enjoy the rest of the soundtrack (with props to American Idol for inspiring today’s Rolling Stones crush).