HAPPY EASTER to everyone who celebrates!

From the archives, taken on 12 June 2013, on a drive SW of Calgary. The Mountain Bluebirds have arrived back in Alberta, but it will be a while before that have all built their nests and had their young. Last night, I was looking for a photo that had colour, to post this morning, and came across this one. Last summer, I took so many photos of Bluebirds and most remain unposted. Not quite sure what this Dad had caught for his babies, but it doesn't look particularly appetizing - to a human : )

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.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

I have an excruciatingly painful right arm and shoulder, partly from too much mouse clicking thanks to all the extra clicking that is necessary with the new Flickr format, plus all the many extra clicks needed when working with images using Windows 7. I really, really don't like Windows 7. I seem to remember turning my arm in a strange way a few days ago, too, while either putting on or taking off a jacket. Suspect I may have pulled something. Doing more driving than usual a few days ago, when I took my daughter down to the Frank Lake area for the day, probably didn't help, either. I know I should be resting my arms, but I know that's not going to happen - I really must cut back, though, to give my arms a chance to improve somewhat. Lol, I could only photograph birds below a certain height yesterday, as I can barely lift my right arm high enough to hold my camera up to my eye : (