I noticed that my bluebird houses have attracted pairs of Eastern Bluebirds for the second time this year.
I have several houses at home and one at the Mens Garden.
I have followed the recommendations of the Audobon Society in building them in order to keep other birds away. I built them out of red cedar donated by a friend.
https://www.audubon.org/news/how-build-bluebird-nest-box
Bluebirds are almost exclusively insect eaters. They capture insects, crush them and feed them to their young. As you can see from the nest placement, they prefer to nest near a lawn or farmland so that they can capture insects easily.
I also inspected the trees nearby since they are abundant sources of caterpillars for the bluebirds and for other birds.
I know I have hackberry trees host to 6 different butterflies including the hackberry emperor.
I also found a shagbark hickory which is a host plant to many butterflies included the hairstreak.
In my search, I also found this in my side yard. He was perfectly still until I emerged enough to take this picture.
Finally, I hope you enjoy this Casablanca lily which just began blooming this week.
Happy gardening!
Be sure to check out the propagator
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Lovely pictures! Hairstreaks are among my favorite butterflies – I get the Banded Hairstreak in my yard – saw four of them feeding on my daisies the other day. Your young buck is gorgeous – hope he doesn’t munch too much on the flowers!. I am also jealous of your bluebirds. So beautiful!
What a pretty butterfly and I love all the bird boxes Doc. Glad to hear that the Blue birds have returned.