Happiness in Wildwood Cemetery

My lunch break included a visit to Wildwood Cemetery in Ashland, Massachusetts.  I immediately spotted a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, my first sighting of this species in Massachusetts!  Previously I had only seen them in Ohio.

Male Red Bellied Woodpecker

Then, I spotted my favorite birds, the Eastern Bluebird, both male and female.  They appear to have selected a nesting box near one of the graves.  There are several boxes placed around the cemetery that look like they were placed near specific tombstones (not by the cemetery itself).  I like the thought of Bluebirds of Happiness flitting about the cemetery.  It must be uplifting to people who are visiting their loved ones.

Female Eastern Bluebird

Male Eastern Bluebird (preening)

This nesting box isn't very high off the ground and seems awfully close to the gravestone (a predator could climb from there to the box).  I hope it will be a safe place for them!  Bluebirds typically look for nesting spots mid-March, so they are about 3 weeks ahead of schedule.

As I was leaving the cemetery, I happened upon Tom, the wild turkey.  He was having lunch at one of the recently-filled bird feeders (so how wild is he, really?).   Still no girlfriend.....but looking quite dapper in the sunshine.  He looks like he's getting plenty to eat, doesn't he?