My favorite singer in the woods is the wood thrush. The Wood Thrush's loud, flute-clear ee-oh-lay song rings through the deciduous forests of Songbird Prairie Inn and Spa in summer. You'll likely hear the Wood Thrush before you see it. This reclusive bird's cinnamon brown upperparts are good camouflage as it scrabbles for leaf-litter invertebrates deep in our woods, though it pops upright frequently to peer about, revealing a boldly spotted white breast. Juveniles show a somewhat muted version of the same pattern. All have a bold, white eye ring. Though still numerous, its rapidly declining numbers may be due in part to cowbird nest parasitism at the edges of fragmenting habitat and to acid rain's depletion of its insect prey.

Here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa, a Valparaiso, IN B&B, you will experience the thrill of viewing baby bluebirds in their nesting boxes. The eastern bluebird is our most famous thrush, even more popular than it’s cousin the American robin. It’s beauty, it’s song and it’s willingness to live close to us has inspired many poets, songwriters, artists, and bird watchers. Bluebirds, according the Audubon Society, will be attracted to your property if you have a large open lawn, especially if you provide housing. Thanks to a concerted effort by bluebird lovers, as we are, the boxes are built  and posted and therefore, the eastern bluebird has rebounded from it’s low population in the 1960s. The sky-blue and rusty breast of the make bluebird are echoed in the females’ more muted tones. There are three bluebird species in North America, but only the eastern in commonly found east of the Mississippi. We see the bluebird here at our Valparaiso B&B all year long.
Bluebirds are often seen perched along fence posts here in Northwest Indiana. They also can be found on wires or high in trees. They may appear all dark in bright sunlight, so many observers miss seeing them. During spring courtship, paired bluebirds can be seen fluttering their wings near a prospective nesting site in the front of the Inn. They utter a song turalee turalay saying, give me some more mealworms please. If I haven’t put them out they will flutter up and down in front of the windows so I will see them, and give them their tasty treat. The two habitat requirements of bluebirds are large, open grassy areas for foraging and cavities for roosting and nesting. In harsh winter weather, bluebirds may migrate short distances to find food or shelter. The bluebirds eat insects and fruits and berries when insects are scarce. Bluebirds visit feeders for mealworms, berries and suet or suet dough.  Here at Songbird Prairie, in Northwest Indiana, we supply nesting boxes. The female bluebird builds the nest inside the cavity using bark strips, grass and hair. The female lays four to six eggs and incubates them for 12-16 days. Both parents care for the nestlings until fledging occurs after 14-18 days. www.songbirdprairie.com

The black-capped chickadee travels in noisy little bands and draws attention to themselves with their frequent scolding chatter. The black-capped have black feathers that look like a cap on their head and under their beak, as well as white check patches, gray back, wings and tails and pale under parts with buff-colored flanks. The bill is tiny and dark and the legs and feet are black. Males and females are alike and there are no seasonal differences in plumage.  Their size is 5 1/4 inches lone vocal hues can be helpful. One of their two notes are fee-bee and the common call is chick-a-dee-dee-dee call. Here at Songbird Prairie in Northwest Indiana, we see the chickadee all year long.  Most of their diet is insects, such as aphids, ants, moths, and leaf hoppers. They also eat spiders, weed seeds and the seeds and small fruits of many trees and vines. At feeders they are partial to sunflower seed, suet and peanuts. They take their time in selecting just the right seed at the feeders here at Songbird Prairie. They seek out natural holes in woodland trees, often adapting old woodpecker holes. They readily accept nesting boxes. One year I found a clutch in a bluebird box. Looking in as I always do with the baby bluebird, I opened the box to find the female chickadee had made her nest with moss and the baby chickadees spilled out like water since the moss had almost disintegrated. I picked them up and poked them back into the hole and never opened it until they fledged. One side of the nest is built up higher that the other and can be pulled down like a flap to cover the young when both parents are away. As many as eight eggs are laid and incubated by the female for 11-13 days; both parents then share the feeding of the young until they fledge after two weeks. Come and hear their cheery chick-a dee-dee-dee While you enjoy our artfully presented breakfast here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa here in Valparaiso, Indiana. www.songbirdprairie.com

Near Chicago, Songbird Prairie is located in Valparaiso, Indiana and is the destination spa in the Great Lakes Region of the Midwest. Songbird Prairie offers a menu of massages, reflexology, botanical body treatments and facials to enhance your health and wellness. With a combined 75 years of experience, our therapists will leave you in a state of complete relaxation. Songbird Prairie’s variety of services offers customized treatments designed to manage stress levels by balancing your nervous system. Songbird Prairie is both private and has serene surroundings located on six acres of woodlands and prairie.
Songbird Spa therapists use the finest quality products, which are botanically based, gentle products proven to provide the ultimate sensual experience. Using essential oils and aromas, we customize spa services adding to your physiological and psychological wellness.

Songbird Spa services will lead you to a blissful state of mind. Our customized massages begin with an aroma sensory journey and include, but are not limited to Swedish, Lomi-lomi, Deep Tissue, Reflexology and Mom2B Massage. Our treatments will relieve tension and stress throughout the body and promote emotional calm, removing toxins from the body, improving sleep and elevating your immune system. Thoroughly trained professionals will consult with each guest to match their health and energy goals with the most beneficial treatment.
From $99.00 Couples massage $198