Bluebirds have arrived in King

Long-time King Township acquaintance, David Love, told me last Friday (Mar. 30) that Eastern Bluebirds had returned to his meadow on the King Ridge last week. It prompted me to check Cold Creek Forest and Wildlife Centre yesterday to see if they had returned there also. I didn't see any bluebirds but they should be back soon. Let's hope they hold off until the last bit of snow, forecasted for this week, has passed.
While I was there, I took the opportunity to put numbers on 12 new birdboxes and re-erect one birdhouse that had fallen to the ground last fall, when an old fence post toppled over. There are now 45 birdboxes at Cold Creek awaiting the spring migration. Last year every box was occupied, mostly by Tree Swallows and House Wrens, but also by a pair of bluebirds. Hopefully the bluebird count will increase this year.
The beauty of bluebirds is exceeded only by their instinctive intrepidity to get to nest sites on the breeding grounds early. Their delicate blue appearance seems to belie their ability to withstand cold, wet, early spring weather. The truth is that their first brood of babies often succumb to the elements, but later broods succeed. Nature often demands fearlessness from all of its creatures and doesn't make exceptions, not even for its prettiest jewels, such as the Eastern Bluebird.
Anyone attending Cold Creek Day on Sat., June 9th, may get to see one of these feathered treasures...details at www.coldcreekca.ca.