If I had to list my favorite birds, Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) would certainly be near the top of the list. The color combination of blue and orange is so striking and so beautiful that it delights me every time that I am blessed to spot a bluebird. Without fail, I also recall a comment I received several years ago from a young reader, Benjamin, who noted that the birds had as much orange as blue in their feathers and wondered why they were not called Orange Bluebirds. Why indeed?
I already posted a few bluebird photos from a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week, but decided that there were a few more that I just had to share. When the subjects are this photogenic, it is so much fun to see how many different “looks” I can get by varying my shooting angle and composition. I love how each of these there photos has a distinctively different background and “feel.”
Do you have favorite birds too? It should come as no surprise to those of you who follow this blog regularly, that Bald Eagles are probably at the top of my list.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I especially like the second image of the bluebird on the sumac berries. The colors complement each other beautifully.
What a treat to be able to see the enlarged details with a click! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
These birds are beautiful.
Thanks.
Their vibrant colors and quiet personality show in these photos.
I am a fan of bald eagles, definitely.
I have been observing birds for over 30 years, and the beauty of the bluebird still moves me. Blue feathers react to light differently than other colors. It’s rather complicated but the result is that so-called blue feathers are not really blue but a combination of keratin and light and red and yellow wavelengths. So that every time you look or photograph a blue feather, it is different dependent on the light. This makes every sighting of a blue-colored bird a new experience. Your photos here, Mike, are truly magnificent. I especially like the peace of the moment you captured in the second one. I’m off to enjoy your previous photos, yay.
Very nice Mike! Great Bluebird images!
Never can have enough bluebirds!!
I have to say, I love those little guys, too! They are very pretty and have so much personality. We have several at my office that fly with the house sparrows, but I never seem to have my camera when they’re around! Great pics that you got! Thanks for sharing them!
I love these.
Well seen and thanks for the info
What a lovely series of charming photos. I like the central one for the way it places the bird in its environment and accentuates its diminutive size and rounder shape. I like the way the neutral tone of the background in the first portrait emphasizes the warm hues of the breast plumage and the way the blue background makes those blue feathers pop.
Thanks, Laura. I like all three images of the bluebirds and you have done a great job in extolling the virtues of the each of them. Individually they could stand on their own, but I think that they work together even better as a little collection.
That young reader, then about 4 years old, is now 8 years of age and will love these photos! “Orange-Bluebirds” were so much a favorite that we joined The North American Bluebird Society to receive their quarterly Bluebird Journal just for him! “A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.” – Henry David Thoreau. We had read that Thoreau adored Bluebirds too. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
Thanks so much for sharing the additional information with the broader readership, Ellen. Benjamin’s interests in the details of my photos also prompted me to make sure that I posted my images larger than necessary, so that he (and others) could blow them up on the screen. I love the Thoreau quote. Here’s a link to his poem called “The Bluebirds.” https://watchingbackyardbirds.com/wbbsite/article/the-bluebirds-henry-david-thoreau.php
Love the pastel plumage of these little birds.
Reblogged this on Wonders of Wandering.
I love these little critters and you got some awesome shots of them here.
Thanks. Bluebirds are one of my favorites too.
You’re welcome.