Monday, August 17, 2009

Blue jays

One of the nice things about our new backyard is the birds. The yard behind us is a mini-forest, and the neighbors never do anything outside, so it is a great refuge for birds. We have feeders. The two combine to provide us with an interesting assortment of birds. This morning at breakfast I got to see cardinals, a red-bellied woodpecker (why it was at the feeder I don't know, but it was), chickadees, a hummingbird, and last but definitely not least, blue jays.


We have a family of these colorful, raucous creatures. They swarm the feeders, call to each other from the trees, and drop feathers for me to find. This picture is one my dad took a couple of weeks ago of a juvenile on the feeder. I am sure it has grown by now, becoming less gray and more blue. They will probably stay the winter, as long as I keep the feeder filled. I can't wait to see what other birds show up in the spring.