Spring!

[Philadelphia Eagle]

Spring must be around the corner.

This morning several Bluebirds arrived in our yard and started to inspect the two nesting boxes.

The reason for two nesting boxes is that, generally, the Bluebirds will choose one and leave the other to their arch enemies - the Tree Swallows - who usually arrive a few weeks later and will build in the other box.

The Tree Swallows seem quite content to take 'second best' which always surprises me as they are a more agressive species than the gentle Bluebird and if only one nesting box were provided the Swallows would drive the Bluebirds from it, remove any Bluebird eggs and set up home leaving the Bluebirds to look for somewhere else.

This year, the Bluebirds have arrived earlier than usual - a testament to the unusually mild winter here in Pennsylvania.

However, the forecasters tell us that a weather front is coming down from Canada with lower temperatures although once they start to build, a chill-down won't stop the Bluebirds!