This is my first year as a bluebird nest box monitor and I have bluebirds building in my nest site already!!  In fact the nest is almost finished!! WOO HOO!  Despite three (!!) Red Shoulder Hawks buzzing overhead and my intrusion to check the nest. The beautiful, stalwart little male was right there sitting up on the top guarding his house as soon as I walked away!

I am just so happy and wanted to "crow" about my bluebirds!! 

Also, I went up to the McKeldin area of Patapsco Valley SP Thursday morning and heard quite a few PINE WARBLERS singing their sweet trill up in the trees near the entrance.  I tried to get a look at one, but as usual for me (having heard them in the same place many times last year) couldn't see anything very clearly in the dark dense needles. After looking for quite a while to no avail, I walked away to observe some of the smaller newly-leaving deciduous trees nearby and a adorable little male pine warble flew out of the pine and landed in the branch about 4 feet above my head and looked directly at me, as if to say "Here I am, get a good look and be on your merry way!"  He gave me a good 30 second look and then flew back to the pine tree. I guess it was his turn to appease the great binocular-beings!

Jenny McClintock
Columbia, MD