Piedmont Gardener

I told you here about the bird-brained male bluebird that insisted on bashing himself into my bedroom window as he battled his reflection every morning. That stopped some time ago, and I had hoped he was helping Mrs. Bluebird with the nest they’ve been building in the martin house near the greenhouse.

That Purple Martin house never succeeded in attracting those famed insect-eaters, but the bluebirds have been raising two broods per season in it ever since we pulled it up its rope to the top of the pole — about 20 feet up. It’s great for them — no snake or coon worries, great ventilation, and we clean it out every winter, so the bluebirds can make a fresh start on the nesting season.

Today as I walked around the yard snapping photos, I spotted Mr. Bluebird doing battle with himself on the garage windows, so I tried a few action photos to document this poor deluded fellow. Here he is taking a quick breather on the window sill before the next round:

Readying himself for the next round

See all the lovely bird poo deposits on the window ledge? I guess he gets very excited as he flutters against the window. This is a high window, so it’s going to take a pressure washer to clean up this mess. See the smear in the middle of the window? Those are his wing prints. If you click on the photo, you’ll be able to see the wing impressions more clearly.

You can see why he’s confused. The window is reflecting the tall doublefile viburnum and Prunus mume ‘Peggy Clarke’ that grow just behind the garage.

And here’s my attempt at catching him in action. He’s just a blue blur, but you get the idea.

Fighting his reflection

This handsome nut case battles with himself most of the day. Every so often, his mate flutters out of the martin house, where I think she’s incubating eggs, lands in the viburnum, and burbles at this loony bird. I don’t know if she’s chastising or encouraging him.

I hope he decides to stop when their chicks hatch. Mrs. Bluebird will need help feeding all those hungry mouths.