In the absence of a blue sky...

...a blue jay.

Lovely Blue

I forgot to clean up the birdseed after we played outside yesterday. A couple of bluejays appreciated the mess and went to work sorting out all the corn kernels. 

A Blue Jay Kind of Day

Happy Birthday to Me!

What a beautiful day! A few years ago on my grandpa's birthday I saw a flock of cedar waxwings, and now today on my birthday here they are again, like Grandpa Lambert was sending his good wishes to me.

And even an ordinary sparrow can look sweet on a day like today. 

Other birthday callers include chickadees, a goldfinch, a woodpecker, robins, a female cardinal, and a bluejay calling in the distance. 

Blue Jay

A pair of blue jays took turns at the feeder this morning, leaving a line of sparrows waiting for them to move on.

Feather

On a walk through a wooded area of our neighborhood where the blue jays make their homes, I found one of their feathers on the ground. The child-like urge to pick up this treasure lead me to bring it home where it now adorns the kitchen window. I was amazed to feel the air resist against the feather as I swung my arms; it's no wonder birds can soar so easily.

A Few Items Worth Mentioning

• Just a few hours after I posted about male cardinals feeding the females, I actually witnessed this! I don't think they were mating because it seems too late for that, and the female was not scruffy like the juvenile I had seen a few weeks prior so I assumed it was an adult female. It looked like she was receiving a sweet kiss from her love. 

• Later that day a bluebird took a quick respite from flying in the heat to perch on the top of the shepherd's hook. I have never seen a bluebird before so this was very exciting for me. He had his mouth wide open. I've seen other birds do this and I wondered if it's a cooling mechanism, much like panting for a dog. Turns out it is, the internet says. It was pretty hot that day. 

• The blue jays have been very noisy today! I rarely hear them, and usually only so when I walk through the parts of the neighborhood where the trees are thicker. They're so loud I expect a flock of them to land in my yard to begin the Angry Blue Jay Territory Convention.  

• On my way to the library yesterday I saw a dark wide wingspan circle over the street a ways in front of me and land over some road kill. I was able to drive right up to it before it flew away revealing itself to be a turkey vulture! Before I knew what it was I was describing it to Rob and said it looked like a big black bird with a red turkey head. I wouldn't call them "pretty." 

• I love it when I surprise the birds at my feeder. Many of them are so focused on eating that they don't hear me walking from the car to the front door. When I get right next to the feeder they all scream, fly to the nearest branch, and if they're chickadees, they scold me until I shut the front door behind me. Last week I surprised a goldfinch. He looked right at me, paused as if processing what he saw, then gave a startled warble before flying away.