{"id":69512,"date":"2020-05-06T05:29:38","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T11:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=69512"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:33:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:33:49","slug":"one-bad-mama-mountain-bluebird-and-her-swiss-army-knife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/06\/one-bad-mama-mountain-bluebird-and-her-swiss-army-knife\/","title":{"rendered":"One Bad Mama Mountain Bluebird And Her Swiss Army Knife"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FemaleFemale Mountain Bluebird perched on a Swiss Army knife<\/span><\/p>\n

On April 29, 2020 I photographed nesting Mountain Bluebirds<\/span><\/a> and shared some of the photos here on my blog but there were a few images that I wanted to share here later. Today is that day.<\/p>\n

I was watching the female Mountain Bluebird as she gathered nesting materials and spent some time chasing away the House Wren that seem determined to take over her nesting cavity. I saw the female fly into the aspens where she was in the shadows and trained my lens on her. Imagine my surprise when through my viewfinder I could see that the female Mountain Bluebird had landed on a Swiss Army knife that was stuck into the bark of one of the trees. Even though she and the knife were in the shadows I took photos of her perched on the handle of the knife.<\/p>\n

That’s one bad a$$ mama bluebird. And you thought murder hornets were bad? That determined House Wren should have been shaking in their teeny, tiny boots!<\/p>\n

\"SwissSwiss Army pocket knife stuck in an Aspen<\/span><\/p>\n

I also took a few photos of the knife after the female bluebird flew away. I wonder how many photos of Mountain Bluebirds perched on Swiss Army knives there are in the world?<\/p>\n

\"SwissSwiss Army pocket knife after cleaning it up<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I was in the same area and I walked over to the aspens and retrieved the Swiss Army knife, I’d forgotten to do that on my previous trip to that location. It shouldn’t have been left stuck in the tree where a child could have gotten it. It shouldn’t have been used to carve initials into a tree. I brought it home and cleaned it up and it will replace my old Swiss Army knife since the plastic cover on it was broke and had fallen off.<\/p>\n

\"AspenAspen carving – Reuben and Jessicca<\/span><\/p>\n

In the nearby forest yesterday I photographed this carving that either Reuben or Jessicca had carved into an aspen in 1999. I am totally against people doing this to trees.\u00a0 These carvings open up the protective back which allows insects and diseases to enter and that can kill the trees. Don’t do it. Just don’t. We need trees.<\/p>\n

By the way, I don\u2019t believe this is the same knife used to carve Reuben and Jessicca\u2019s initials. The knife is in too good a shape to have been there for 21 years.<\/p>\n

I am glad that not one of my teen-aged boyfriends ever did this to a tree “for” me, I guess they all knew, even way back then, that I was a tree and nature lover.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe and watch for Mama Bluebirds with knives.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Mountain Bluebird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine my surprise when through my viewfinder I could see that the female Mountain Bluebird had landed on a Swiss Army knife that was stuck into the bark of one of the trees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1369,1316,358,26,1314],"tags":[1919,5933,4880,9838,9835,9840,9841,4070,5370,9839,9844,9843,228,9842,9837,9833,4677,4339,9836,3844,4881,4427,4076],"class_list":["post-69512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-mountain-bluebirds","category-stansbury-mountains-utah","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-aspen","tag-bluebird","tag-bluebirds","tag-carving","tag-carvings","tag-damage","tag-disease","tag-female","tag-forest","tag-initials","tag-jessicca","tag-knives","tag-mountain-bluebird","tag-pests","tag-pocket-knife","tag-reuben","tag-shadows","tag-sialia-currucoides","tag-swiss-army-knife","tag-thrush","tag-thrushes","tag-tree","tag-trees"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-on-pocket-knife-mia-mcpherson-9240.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-i5a","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":85509,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/24\/dreaming-of-mountain-bluebirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":69512,"position":0},"title":"Dreaming Of Mountain Bluebirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I woke up this morning dreaming of Mountain Bluebirds so I thought I would share two images of them from previous springs.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Mountain Bluebird high in a tree, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-adult-male-sky-trees-mia-mcpherson-7143.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69228,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/30\/nesting-mountain-bluebirds-and-other-woodland-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":69512,"position":1},"title":"Nesting Mountain Bluebirds And Other Woodland Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I had a blast photographing a pair of Mountain Bluebirds at a natural nesting cavity at the edge of a forest along with some other woodland birds.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Mountain Bluebird inside a nesting cavity, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-8703-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-8703-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-8703-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-8703-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37342,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/24\/mountain-bluebird-plumage-development-stages\/","url_meta":{"origin":69512,"position":2},"title":"Mountain Bluebird Plumage Development Stages","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"These images from different times of the year show Mountain Bluebird plumage development stages from not long after fledging to adulthood.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Perched juvenile Mountain Bluebird, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7094.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7094.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8600,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/15\/female-mountain-bluebirds-in-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":69512,"position":3},"title":"Female Mountain Bluebirds in Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There were Mountain Bluebirds everywhere I looked on my recent trip to Montana where flashes of their brilliant blue plumage were a delight to my eyes.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Bluebird female with prey for her young, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-7085.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-7085.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-7085.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-7085.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59456,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/08\/12\/picture-this-utah-could-lose-our-mountain-bluebirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":69512,"position":4},"title":"Picture This: Utah Could Lose Our Mountain Bluebirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Our current climate crisis could mean Utah might lose our Mountain Bluebirds and it is not just us, it is Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming that will also be affected if action isn't taken now.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Mountain Bluebird perched in an elderberry, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-elderberry-mia-mcpherson-8992-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-elderberry-mia-mcpherson-8992-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-elderberry-mia-mcpherson-8992-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-male-elderberry-mia-mcpherson-8992-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23227,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/04\/black-and-blue-all-over-with-just-a-splash-of-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":69512,"position":5},"title":"Black and Blue All Over With Just a Splash of Red","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it was another fun morning at the Magical Sapsucker Tree and today the cast was joined by a pair of Mountain Bluebirds who seem dead set on taking over the Northern Flicker cavity.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Mountain Bluebird at a Northern Flicker nesting cavity, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mountain-bluebird-female-mia-mcpherson-6127.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}