Photograph and text by Mike Vitiello
From the June 2022 issue

What a warm and wonderful experience it is to observe a mother bluebird feed her chicks, as we sit at our breakfast table in our home near Long Neck. Throughout the day, families of three or four birds flock to the feeder. Momma bird stays inside the container that holds the worms, while the chicks hold their place, in a pecking order, up the pole. Momma feeds the first one, which then promptly flies away. While the second one takes its place, mom goes for more worms, and the orderly process continues until all chicks are fed.

As days go by, mom’s feeding job winds down and the grown-up birds visit the feeder on their own. Perhaps one of them will eventually become a mother, and this natural life cycle will start anew.