The leaves have mostly fallen from the trees and the weather is now overcast most of the time, it seems. If you use the meteorological calendar, winter has already arrived—if you use the astronomical calendar, you have a few more weeks to wait until the December solstice.
During this somewhat bleak period of the year, I particularly cherish those moments when I stumble upon some bright colors in nature, like those of this male Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) that I spotted on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The brilliant blue and orange colors of this little bird never fail to bring a smile to my face.
My encounter with this little bird was unfortunately brief. The second shot shows my initial view of the bluebird and the background is a bit too cluttered for my taste. The first photo shows how a small change in my shooting position helped me to get a somewhat clearer view of my subject.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Love the pictures! I bird watch too and Blue Birds are one of my favorites.
Bluebirds always seem to be cheery–definitely one of my favorites, though I must confess that I have quite a few favorites. 🙂
Me too! 😀
Nice Mike! Always fun to see and photograph Bluebirds!
I love seeing these birds any time, but they really are a joy in winter when they come to eat my winterberry and holly berries. Beautiful shots, Mike!
Thanks, Eliza. I love seeing bluebirds and cardinals in the winter when the landscape tends to be almost monochromatic.
They definitely brighten up the dark days!
I love blue birds! Beautiful!
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Beautiful, Mike. I see them all over the farm. They are a joy to watch! A guest from Canada, visiting the oldest house in Winchester where I work asked me if there were bluebirds around. She so wanted to see some! Wish I could’ve taken her to the farm, as those pretty birds aren’t much for city dwelling. Happy birding!
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Ahhh, such a beautiful sight! I’m always happy when I see a bluebird. Great pics, Mike! 💙😊
I still get excited each time I see a bluebird. We’ve only been seeing them regularly the past couple of years. “Our” bluebirds still visit our yard every week or so to inspect the bluebird box we put up last spring. Other birds do the same; a few days ago, a titmouse made a very thorough inspection, both inside and out. We are wondering if the bluebirds will be forced to compete for the box next spring, and if so, who will be successful! Of course, which bluebirds is a real question. You may remember that the neighbor’s cat got Mama Bluebird while she was incubating her second clutch. So there are her two husbands, as well as the first clutch babies and other random individuals…. stay tuned.
P.S. I love both images. Such a cheerful little fellow!
Beautiful photos! Definetly cool to see such a colorful bird with winter so close!
Thanks, so much. I love bright colors all year, but they really seem to “pop” when the weather is cold and gray.
Oh the gorgeous orange edge on those wing feathers! Makes me pause and take a deep welcome breath. Yes, ’tis the season to just stop, and breathe! Thank you
Thanks, Molly. Most of us are feeling pretty stressed out and it’s good, I think, to slow down, look around, and just breathe.