Man Versus Bluebird

"I know noble accents 
And lucid, inescapable rhythms; 
But I know, too, 
That the [blue] bird is involved 
In what I know."

Editor's note: One of my favorite poems, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens, came to mind after reading this Bob Brittain's account of his unusual encounter with a bluebird. I quote Stevens' eighth stanza--with a small change--in honor of Brittain's work to nurture blue bird habitats in Walnut Creek's open spaces. A retired scientist, Brittain served on the Walnut Creek Parks, Recration and Open Space Commission and on the board of the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation. Over the past few weeks he has been hiking the open spaces to check on the bluebird nesting boxes he helps maintain. But his most unusual encounter with a bluebird didn't happen when he was looking for one. Take it away, Bob: 

Most of you know I like to take care of cavity nest boxes in the Walnut
Creek Open Space. Today I decided to take a hike on Mt. Diablo, instead, and
get photos of wildflowers and other sights.

I parked my blue Honda at the Northgate Road entrance at the trailhead for
the Little Pine Creek trail. As I opened my trunk a few seconds later to
retrieve hiking gear, I heard fluttering noise on the right side of the car.

Seeing what the commotion was about, I re-opened the drivers-side door to
get my camera, hoping to get a fleeting shot of the perpetrator. There was
no problem at all. I took pictures of this fellow from 8:48 a.m. to 8:56 a.m. 
before going on my walk. The bluebird stayed with the car. I bet I could
have photographed him for half an hour!

This is the middle of nesting season for bluebirds and they are very
territorial. Cavity nest box monitors don't place nest boxes closer than
100-150 feet from each other and even then we don't place them in line-of-sight.

So, here is my interpretation of the event. The male bluebird is protecting
his territory and probably has an active cavity nest nearby. He notices my
blue-as-a-bluebird car pull to the side of the road. Within a few seconds he
sees his reflection in my rear-view mirror and goes ballistic. He will
assure that this intruder is banished from his realm!