Bluebirds nesting in Sylvan Park

Neighbor Jim Dade reports the very rare news that bluebirds have nested in his backyard:

While I have never seen a bluebird in any urban environment, I put up an old bluebird house in my backyard several years ago. This spring, a pair of bluebirds finally found it and took up residence. What a treat. I never saw any baby bluebirds flying about but you could see the adults busy feeding them for some time. The babies finally "flew the coop" and the the pair disappeared for a while only to return about 2-3 three weeks ago, and they are now raising their second "clutch" I think it is called.

These birds are absolutely gorgeous - the color of the male does not exist elsewhere! The pair stays pretty close together and have gotten used to me being in the yard. I go out and watch them every morning. So, I would encourage anyone to put up a bluebird house and maybe they will get lucky, too. You have to keep the sparrows away, but there are plenty of websites that tell you how to do that. The sparrows can be a real problem, but I watched mine literally beat a sparrow down to the ground in aerial combat protecting his turf this spring - that's a whole 'nother story.

Let us know if you've experienced any similarly unusual sightings recently.