Bluebirds

Dan Kunz

A number of years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the hobby of monitoring bluebird houses.  About fifty years ago, because of the use of certain pesticides, primarily DDT, many bird species were endangered.  Most of the attention went to our nation’s symbol, the bald eagle.  Eagle numbers fell to dangerous levels.  The effect of the DDT was to make eggshells very thin, and many eggs broke before they could hatch.  Bluebirds were also among the species at risk.  Bluebird numbers plummeted.  As many of these species began to rebound after the banning of DDT, a new organization, the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, was born.  From April through July, members monitor bluebird houses to assess the “success” of any year’s hatch.  Fortunately, bluebird restoration in many states is an amazing success story. 

Bluebirds are very “human tolerant”.  They don’t mind people opening the sides of specially constructed houses to count eggs, count chicks, and monitor their growth.  For those who love nature, and especially bluebirds, monitoring the houses weekly is interesting, fun, and rewarding.  To visit a house and find four or five pale blue eggs, or a nest full of fuzzy little chicks, or better yet, an empty nest which has been flattened over a couple weeks by the inhabitants because they’ve fledged (left the nest), is super exciting!  I monitor nine houses and my best year was fifty-four fledglings.  The number which grow up and leave home varies a lot from year to year. 

Sometimes bad weather means a late start to nesting.  Gnats attracted to the nest at the wrong time can spell trouble.  They will bite and kill the defenseless chicks.  Other species of birds such as wrens or sparrows can throw the eggs out of the house.  Raccoons may try to climb the pole to which the house is attached and pull the chicks out of the nest.  All nest monitors try their best to mitigate the dangers, but you can’t prevent everything.  Your reward is seeing those little blue bundles of feathers flitting around the neighborhood and brightening your day.

If you’ve ever raised children, or invested time in grandchildren, or shared Jesus with someone, a lot of similarities exist.  You try your best to give them what they need.  You spend countless hours protecting them from all sorts of danger.  You pray that at some point they’re ready to leave home (or your influence).  When that “Independence Day” comes, you know there’s very little you can do going forward.  You have done all you can and the rest is in God’s hands.  Just like catching a glimpse of an adult bluebird from time to time brings a smile to your face, seeing your children or grandchildren or a new convert attending church or Bible Study is very satisfying and more than just a little humbling.  You realize you were just “planting the seed”. God, the Holy Spirit, is making it grow and thrive.