Mountain Bluebird pair

OMG, just discovered it's SNOWING!!! Just four days before June starts. There is a snowstorm warning in effect. Major snowstorms in May are NOT unusual here, though - just frustrating : )

Spent a bit of time with this sweet pair of Mountain Bluebirds, south west of the city. I'm so glad I went when I did, as we are having heavy rain today and in the forecast. This little lady gave me some chances for reasonably close photos, though the bright blue male tended to be further away. A minute before this shot, the male had just flown across the road to this fence post to give his mate a fat, juicy larva of some kind : ) Their nesting box was very close by and at regular intervals they had to defend their box against three or four Tree Swallows who kept swooping down low. It always fascinates me the fact that Mountain Bluebirds actually have no blue pigment in their feathers - it's all about the light.

In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays." www.birds.cornell.edu/allaboutbirds/studying/feathers/col...

"In Alberta, they are most readily seen along roadsides in the foothill country near Calgary where bluebird enthusiasts provide, maintain and monitor nestboxes. Autumn migration is an extended affair. Flocks assemble in mid August and most have departed by late September. Usually, however, there are some that linger to late October and sometimes into November." talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=238