Bluebirds Over The Mountain (A Song)

Help! What do I do now?

Bluebirds over the mountain

Sea gulls over the sea.

Bluebirds over the mountain

Bring my baby to me.

Doesn't seem long since I announced the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Blue's bird family. We watched each day as they first built the nest in the box on the porch post near the bedroom door, then noticed Mrs. Blue busy laying eggs and setting on them. We watched closely, but didn't see the babies actually fly out of the box. We did see them many times in the trees nearby. I have read, and no doubt its true, bluebird parents feed the fledglings a month after they are out of the nest. Much like human parents who never seem to let go of their growing children! This was in May or early June.

One morning in late June we noticed the birds were showing a lot of interest in the little birdhouse at the end of the picket fence in the backyard. It is close to the area where we park our vehicles and I'm sure Mrs. Blue chose this because she loves to sit on the mirrors and look at herself! (This causes us to have to do an extra amount of cleaning, you see!) Anyway, it was obvious they were building in earnest and had plans for another family.

The weeks went by. We watched the little house through storms and extreme heat. Once Mrs. Blue was so hot she popped out onto the little porch to cool off! "His eye was on the sparrow" (bluebirds) as we traveled for two weeks in Colorado. During that time Mrs. Blue had been unselfishly tending her eggs/babies while Mr. Blue watched overhead singing to her and bringing her a tasty worm or two for strength. A little later came the feeding frenzy of both parents in and out with breakfast, lunch and dinner for a brood of hungry babies!

Then, when we least expected it, we were privileged to see the little fledglings emerge from the safety of their nest out into what must be a very scary world. Jack captured the last one in the photo above as the little bird tried to make up his mind--poking his head out of the hole, inching out further, then quickly pulling in, only to try again as his concerned parents called out encouragement from a tree overhead.

Finally, he popped out onto the ledge where he tottered about wondering what he should do next. During this time his dad flew down to the house and fed him a small bug. When he slipped off the edge into the flowerbed I became a little concerned. However, he landed on the soft leaves of a bush below where he sat for a minute or two before getting courage to try his wings. When he did, he swooped up to the nearby light wire, which must have been a feat in itself to catch hold of such a tiny landing pad.

We see the Blue family now and then in the trees around the yard. Mrs. Blue perched on the bedroom screen yesterday morning while we were drinking our first cup of coffee. It was comforting to see her back to her old ways of checking in on us. She and her mate, and sometimes a baby or two, perch on the birdhouse occasionally--not sure why. And, we are regularly cleaning the car doors! We are worried that she is passing this habit along to the youngsters!

I heard the above song on the radio--Jack's oldies classics. On further investigation, I learned it was originally sung by Richie Valens(this is the version I heard), who was famous for the song, La Bamba, (the movie, La Bamba, is the story of his life). He was a part of the infamous Dance Party Tour in 1959, and was killed in the plane crash with Buddy Holly. (The Day the Music Died) The song was also sung by the Beach Boys on their Sunshine Dream( or Summer Dreams) album, 1990, . I found the song on Beach Boys Greatest Hits Vol. 2. I want to get a copy of both versions. I noticed you can even get a ringtone version on your phone!