Jays, May 6

[neverspent]

Tuesday was a hot, muggy day, so when I was walking my dog on a trail in the woods, I took him down to the creek so he could wade around and cool off. As soon as we reached the bottom of the steep bank from the trail, a funny-looking blue jay fluttered in front of us and caught the edge of a twig about six feet away. It bounced there precariously, and I wondered why it didn't fly further, but soon I could see that it was a fledgling. Its tail feathers weren't fully formed and it was still a bit round and babyish. Just learning to fly, I imagine. I held the dog and watched as the little fellow took off again, sailed on a downward trajectory across the creek -- I held my breath hoping it wouldn't splash into the water -- and landed on a rock just on the far edge. It was sort of hidden in a hollow in the bank. A parent blue jay made a few passes through the air near us, then landed high in a tree on the far side of the creek, watching. I was relieved when the baby managed to hop onto a root higher on the bank, the up into the woods closer to its parent. I let my dog (who was completely uninterested in the birds) go and he stood up to his chest in the cool water for awhile. Then I noticed a second fledgling on our side of the creek, perched on an exposed root at about my eye level, ten feet away. The poor thing must have been pretty scared, so I called the dog and we left the family alone to re-unite.

When I was young, I used to just call blue jays "jays," because I figured the "blue" was unnecessary. Then I got a bird book and learned that there were other varieties! Scrub jays, Mexican jays, pinion jays, Steller's jays. There are even green, brown and gray jays! It's just that the blue is the only one common over a wide area of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

Comments

[shinsetsu]

I used to find birds all the time who were in some kind of distress and needed help. Fortunately we have a WildLife Care here who will take them from you. They have a bird nursery plus volunteers who also take care of squirrels, possums etc.

The jays around me now like to bang their found nut, and I assume, seed treasures on my roof in the mornings. They're pretty noisy. It always makes me laugh.

[neverspent]

The Wildlife Care sounds like a wonderful resource! What a variety of creatures they help. We have a nature rehab center but they mostly take raptors and larger mammals.

I guess there are worse alarm clocks than a jay knocking a nut on your roof. :)