Posing Blue Jays

PixelRabbit · Oct 3, 2015

When we first moved in here and I started to feed the birds the chickadees had no fear of us, they would land on our near us pretty much from day one, the Blue Jays (and Cardinals) were another story. They would take off at the first sight of us and wanted nothing to do with being at the feeders when we were nearby. Finally late this summer they have started being more tolerant of us in the interest of getting those seeds

Here are a few shots of them posing. The first one is a Juvenile, they are pretty much the same size as the adults but look.... fresher somehow lol and when they all arrive the juvies will squawk and flap their wings to try to get an adult to bring them seeds, they appear to be trying to wean them and make them get their own now.

IMG_0964-1 by Judi, on Flickr

IMG_0937-1 by Judi, on Flickr

IMG_1265-1 by Judi, on Flickr

terri · Oct 3, 2015

What a nice group of shots, Judi! Very colorful, sharp, and I like your chosen DOF in each one.

I've only had a wild bird land on me once, and it was pretty magical. And I've fed the little buggers for years! :lol:

PixelRabbit · Oct 3, 2015

Thanks Terri!

It is definitely neat when they land on us, they seem to land on feet a lot when you sit with our legs crossed, not sure what that's about lol
I will often offer seeds from my hand before I fill the feeders to get them even more used to us, once in a while one will come but more often than not they will just fly in and away trying to muster up enough bravery to land lol

jcdeboever · Oct 3, 2015

Gorgeous birds but man they are aggressive! The wife told me a couple were ganging up on our dog this summer. Swooping down on him and pecking him, he was pretty pissed about it apparently. The wife had to bring him in the house.

PixelRabbit · Oct 3, 2015

Thanks JC, yeah they can be jerks for sure! Did you know they are omnivores? I didn't until a couple winters ago, when the cat's "squeaky toys" (read mice they caught) stop squeaking I put them outside for critters that might like a little snack, to my surprise I saw a Blue Jay come and get one! That sent me googling and sure enough, they eat small mammals, amphibians, fish, and even the eggs and young of other birds!

IMG_4809-1 by Judi, on Flickr

WesternGuy · Oct 3, 2015

Just FYI, PR, Blue Jays are members of the same family as Crows, Ravens, Magpies and other similar birds. They are extremely curious and, as you have indicated, will eat just about anything. They are also aggressive and will attack just about anything in their territory, including hawks, owls, squirrels and even people and their pets if they get too close.

Nice shots - I think the third one is my favourite.

WesternGuy

PixelRabbit · Oct 3, 2015

Thanks WG and great info! I knew some but not all of it, didn't realize they were related to Crows etc...

Another fun Blue Jay fact is that there is no blue pigment in their feathers! The blue is light refraction from the structure of the feathers

If you hold a feather juuuust the right way you can make the blue go away and they are black/grey

JacaRanda · Oct 3, 2015

Nice set. I prefer #2 with all the pine needles framing the Jay.

PixelRabbit · Oct 3, 2015

Thanks Jaca

I quite like that one too, the White Pine it is in is the only one, the rest of the trees around are cedars and they are so gnarly they give much better cover so when one lands there it's a mad rush to get the shot lol

Donde · Oct 3, 2015

My vote is for the first one. Lovely composition.

WesternGuy · Oct 3, 2015

PixelRabbit said:
Thanks WG and great info! I knew some but not all of it, didn't realize they were related to Crows etc...

Another fun Blue Jay fact is that there is no blue pigment in their feathers! The blue is light refraction from the structure of the feathers If you hold a feather juuuust the right way you can make the blue go away and they are black/grey

Thanks PR, didn't know about the feathers - very interesting. If you are interested, there is a good article on crows (blue jays relatives) in the latest edition of Canadian Wildlife (September+October 2015). Some very interesting anecdotes in it. You can probably find it at any Indigo bookstore.

WesternGuy

PixelRabbit · Oct 4, 2015

Thanks Donde

WG, ah nice! Thanks for the tip, I've watched a few documentaries on crows and they are absolutely fascinating, there was one study that they did and determined they can recognize specific people (in this case a "mean" person) and pass the information about that person to other crows. They also can solve puzzles to get a treat. I definitely see our local murder of crows in a different light