Blue Jay

Second only to the Red-Bellied Woodpecker in our bird feeder hierarchy of who feeds first, the Blue Jays are always welcomed (except by nesting Bluebirds!). These birds are amazing. More than once Blue Jays have stopped me in my tracks and made me look for a Red-Shouldered Hawk. One of their songs is a perfect mimic of the Red-Shoulder Hawk call. And the Blue Jay’s love for acorns is legendary. Like squirrels, they gather and cache as much acorns that they can for those lean days of winter. And because that love is paired with their mobility, Jays have been credited as the greatest driving force for the widespread proliferation of Oak trees after the end of the last Ice Age. That’s really impressive for such a pretty little bird.

This image has been added to all of the PRINTS galleries.

The holidays have just passed. The daytime light is starting to get longer. It’s now time to settle back and enjoy what “Ol’ Man Winter” has in store for us over the next couple of months. For me, bird watching is becoming enjoyable again. The bird feeders are bringing in the “locals” that love an easy meal and those that are having a hard time finding food out in the wild. I captured this image of a Blue Jay that had been busy at the feeders. After doing a little eating, it was now perched in a Magnolia and puffed up against the cold.