If you see a flash of cobalt blue in the treetops in the spring, it may be an Eastern bluebird.

In February and March, brightly colored males flutter near nest boxes and tree cavities, inviting their mates to check out prospective homes.

The female chooses a site and builds a nest with pine needles. She incubates five pale blue eggs for 12 to 14 days before they hatch, but both parents care for the young. In North Carolina, bluebirds can have up to three broods each year.

To attract this gorgeous bird, plant dogwoods, holly and winterberry. Bluebird boxes should be erected in reasonably open areas, since the birds will not nest in the woods and rarely in deep shade. Pastures, fields, the edge of lawns and golf courses are good locations.

If you are a newcomer to our area, other birds you can expect in the spring are: wrens, titmice, chickadees, towhees, thrushes, sapsuckers, mockingbirds, jays, finches and our state bird, the cardinal. Hundreds of robins may spend the winter in your neighborhood, and seagulls can be blown inland by a storm. Hummingbirds will be arriving in April. Bald eagles live in the Jordan Lake area west of the Triangle, but curiously, there are no pheasants here.

For more on-line information about Eastern bluebirds, visit the North American Bluebird Society Web site.