Date: 6/5/26 4:08 am From: Alfred Maley <alfredmaley...> Subject: [NHBirds] Bluebirds Teach Their Teenagers About Self Sufficiency
Five young bluebirds have been chasing their parents around the yard for about ten days now, begging constantly for food. Mrs. Bluebird has now shown them how to feed themselves, on white pine sawfly larvae.
Our driveway lies below several big white pine trees from which fall hundreds of white pine sawfly larvae each year at the time. They are so small that if they fall in the grass they are invisible. But on the driveway they are eagerly sought out by catbirds, robins, chipping sparrows and bluebirds. Yesterday Mrs. Bluebird calmly flew down to the driveway, ignoring all her children, and began to scarf up larvae. One by one the youngsters flew down to the driveway, stopped complaining and began to pick up these tasty morsels. Soon there were seven bluebirds darting hither and yon on the driveway and peace and quiet had returned.