Got up early this morning and headed out to go birding at the Mid Pines Rd. dog leg in Raleigh N.C. before it got too hot outside.
It seemed like a good plan but that sun was relentless beating down on those open fields.
Happily, the trip yielded a find of a family of Blue Grosbeaks that made every second of standing in that heat totally worth it in my book!

I was able to photograph the adult male and his mate as well as their two male youngsters.
They were surprisingly tame and allowed me to view them at a relatively close range as they foraged in the shady brush.

Blue Grosbeaks call central North Carolina home from mid-spring to early fall.
Courtship and mating occurs in the spring and early summer.
Their nests are usually built in small trees, shrubs or tangles of vines, briars or other types of brushy vegetation.
Four eggs are laid which will hatch in about 11 to 12 days. Both parents take care of the nestlings from sun up to sun down.
The chicks fledge as little as 10 days and I’m estimating (based on their plumage color, length and coverage ) that the ones I’ve photographed here are around 17-20 days old.
Aren’t they lovely?
🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds