The Leader, Spring 96, Curious Naturalist by Sue Miller Reprinted from The Leader , Spring 1996. I can now say this with absolute certainty. Despite this wintry weather in the Wind River foothills, despite the fact that it's fully a week before the spring solstice, there is irrefutable evidence of warmer, sunnier times coming.
Mountain bluebirds are back.
The males, like this one, truly are shocking with their neon blue color. The females are a more subdued gray with hints of blue. But at this time of year, there aren't many bugs. Luckily, given their early arrival time, they are flexible enough in their eating habits to sample berries such as the Russian olive berries in our yard. One likely reason for their early arrival has to do with nests.