I always associate bluebirds with happiness, and I am invariably happy when I see one. There is something exceptionally beautiful about the combination of colors, the brilliant royal blue and the warm reddish brown, especially now as winter approaches and the other colors seem so muted.
I grew up with the Wizard of Oz and remember almost all of the lyrics of the the song Over the Rainbow, sung in the movie by Judy Garland. In the song, bluebirds are one of the symbols of hope. “Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh why can’t I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can’t I?”
Well, I wasn’t beyond the rainbow this past weekend, but I did see this little Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), perched on a small tree in the middle of a field. He was a bit far away so I had to crop the images, which are a bit soft in focus. Nevertheless, I am sure you will agree that his beauty shines through.
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can’t I?
Eastern bluebird
Bluebird in a tree
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
They are one of the most beautiful birds, in my opinion, but we don’t see many of them here.
Blue birds certainly are a beautiful little bird Mike and you have certainly captured this in these images, alas we don’t have them in the UK so its always nice to see shots of this magestic little bird, keep up the good work and well done.
Thanks. I am looking forward in a strange way to the winter to see which bird species will be will us. This is the first year that I have paid attention to the natural world around me and I hope to be able to keep photographing those that I see. I really appreciate your encouragement. Thanks again.
The pastel background really emphasizes and complements the muted colors in your bluebird Nice catch, Mike.
Thanks, Gary. The background was even more of an asset than I had hoped for. I appreciate your words of encouragement.
You are right.. the colours are lovely, and the brown seems more prominent with the colours in the background. I am also singing from Wizard of Oz, as I just finished helping with the local highschool production. If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow….
I love musicals (as I think I mentioned previously) and sing a lot myself. I’ve been in a few musicals and was in a barbershop group at one time. I suspected you would like my reference to lyrics from a movie/musical.
see, I like you more and more. Barbershop is AWESOME!!! I sing in an A Cappella group- mixed voices- and our director used to direct and judge barbershop. so we do nothing barbershop ourselves (but someday I want to do 4 person barbershop just for fun). In the new year I’ll be redesigning our website with some audio links (we’re just finishing a CD recording)…I’ll have to be sure to blog about it.
Gorgeous photos, and I couldn’t agree more, they are such cheery little birds.
Bluebirds are beautiful little birds and one of my favorite birds, and I always love to see them! Nice photos with pretty coloring. It’s nice to have a surprise like that and see an unexpected bird.
Thanks. I am becoming more familiar with birds and can identify a whole lot more different ones that I could six months ago. The bluebird is so beautiful that it is also a treat when I see one.