Blue Angels in Baja

by Carol Lyons
(Vallejo, CA, USA)

This last Christmas, my husband and I drove to our vacation home in San Felipe, Baja Mexico to spend the New Year. One morning, as we always do, we went to the backyard for our morning coffee and to watch the local wildlife.

My husband had just purchased a digital camera for me for Christmas and I brought it along to practice my action photos for our upcoming trip to Yellowstone in June 2010.

I was drinking my coffee and had my camera nearby when suddenly, a few birds came to our birdbath. At first, it was a few sparrows. After that, some woodpeckers swooped in for a bath and sips of water. I got out my camera and began snapping up pictures.

All of a sudden a flock of eight vibrant blue backed birds came in to the birdbath. Now, being a California girl, I had no idea what kind of birds these were. They're blue color was almost sparkling like a hummingbird.

Well, I got my camera and steadied my focus and started snapping up photos. Who knows, maybe they're just passing through and I'll never see them again.

I got some great shots and began to show them around to folks (both American and Mexican) and no one knew what they were and had never seen them in Baja before.

Well, I got back to California and started researching and discovered they were Eastern Bluebirds. What a surprise. I didn't know they wintered in Baja as I've been wintering in Baja myself for nine years and hadn't seen one yet.

I'm so excited about them that I'm going to build a habitat for them so they will return year after year and multiply.