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Archive For The “jay” Category

The adventures of the stellar jay fledglings

The adventures of the stellar jay fledglings

 

Fledgling stellar jay

A stellar jay fledgling on the suet feeder on my desk. (Robin Rowland)

Early last Sunday morning I heard the thump of a bird hitting the glass door that leads out to my deck. I looked out and saw the bird stagger around the deck then take wing and land on the table on the deck. Birds do hit the door a few times a year and recover. So I went out as originally planned. (This photograph was taken later in the afternoon)

When I got back late in the afternoon…..

Stellar jay fledge

So when I returned, a stellar jay fledge was perched on the suet feeder. I stayed well back using my 300mm zoom lens.  For almost  20 minutes, the bird never moved. I was wondering it the bird was blind….

 

Stellar jay fledge

Then the fledge flew down to the deck and then hopped–not flying–down the steps. I came out on the deck, still keeping far away from the small bird. It looked at me, so clearly the fledge wasn’t blind, as it looked up.

Stellar fledge in the grass

The fledge then hops into the grass of my backyard.  It hops all across the yard to the back fence (not pictured) then suddenly flies over to the fence on the east side of my yard.

Two stellar jay fledges huddle at a fence,

There was the fledge’s sibling huddled against the fence.

Two stellar jay fledges

The two seemed to greet each other.

Stellar jay walks toward fence

 

A while later, one of the fledges, walks toward the north fence of my hard. It looks up.

Fledge tries to fly

The young fledge tries to fly, but doesn’t make it. And grabs on to the fence with its feet.

Two fledges walk.

So the pair walk toward the fence.

 

Fledge tries to fly

Again the fledge tries to fly over the fence.

Fledge walk under fence

So the pair walk through the bottom of the fence and disappear from my yard.


I was worried that the young birds, apparently still not able to fly that far, would fall victim to the cats that roam the park behind my house and sometimes come into my yard.

Then two days later, on Tuesday, on  my morning walk I came across what I am pretty sure is the same pair, about a kilometre from my house, in a gap in a cedar hedge.

Stellar jay fledge

Here’s what I believe is the most adventurous of the pair looking out at me from the hedge.

 

Fledgling stellar jay

 

Here’s the second one, a little further back in the hedge.

 

stellar jay fledglings

And the pair.

Haven’t seen them since, although I’ve been looking. I believe their parents are still around my yard, as a small resident family of stellar jays has been for years. So hopefully they’re either back with family or, since that hedge was close to the bush, they’ve found a new home in the forest.

May 25, 2013 Robin Rowland
BC, birds, jay, Kitimat, lensBird feeder , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , fledgling , Kitimat , photoblog , stellar jay

“I’m here for lunch” and other spring bird shots (plus a salamander or two)

One of the at least three families of stellar jays that live in the cedar trees at my house is bolder and smarter than the rest.  Or maybe it’s a “point bird.”   If I go out with a bag of seeds to refill the feeder, there is the harsh call of the stellar jay and in a few moments,  the bird is close by (often on my deck) and watching me pour the seeds into the feeder.

Stellar jay flies to the feeder

So a couple of days ago, the stellar jay was sitting  on my fence, watching, as I filled one feeder.  Went back in the house to get a different bag, for a second feeder.  Brought my camera along this time and caught the jay as it took off, heading right for me.  Bold or what?

Stellar jay on my deck

Here’s the stellar jay just a few seconds later on my deck.

Yellow-rumped warbler

A yellow-rumped warbler, a “common migrant” along the BC coast, sits on a branch on the new trail to Maggie Point near Kitimat harbour.

Mallards on Douglas Channel

Mallards flying over  the choppy ocean of Douglas Channel near Maggie Point.

Male harlequin duck on Douglas Channel

A male Harlequin duck skims the choppy waters.

A Savannah Sparrow another “common migrant” along the BC coast, sits on my neighbor’s roof.

 

Robin

A robin checks out a Robin on my front lawn.

Golden crown sparrow

Golden-crowned sparrows are also regular lunch guests at my feeder.

bird at feeder

Not sure who this little guy is.  He was determined to get seeds and was good at finding the best spots in this feeder.

Salamanders

When I went out with the Kitimat Valley Naturalists, we went to special protected sites at Pine Creek, near Kitimat, to look for salamanders, part of a province-wide salamander count.  Taken with a macro lens, but not exactly the best light. Next time I go out I will bring a small reflector.

Salamander

salamander

 

 

May 27, 2012 Robin Rowland
birds, duck, garden, jay, Kitimat, nature, Photo gallery, robin, sparrow, warblerBird , Bird feeder , Bird photography , British Columbia , Douglas Channel , golden-crowned sparrow , Harlequin duck , Kitimat , Kitimat British Columbia , mallard , Robin , savannah sparrow , stellar jay , Yellow-rumped warbler

Thanksgiving Dinner at my feeders

So I had some interesting visitors at my bird feeders for Thanksgiving Dinner today.

569-BB_DSC00314.jpg

I think this is a gorgeous male red winged blackbird.

570-2bidsDSC00261.jpgThe redwinged blackbird and his mate on my deck beam.

571-BB_DSC00335.jpgThe BC redwinged blackbird is is somewhat different from the birds I photographed in Ontario, that at first I didn’t recognize it.  This bird has a yellow tuft and the red isn’t as prominent, so that is why I am not certain (Comments please if I need a correction)

572-bbbird2.jpgThis female does look like the red-winged blackbirds in my bird books.

573-stellarjayoct10.jpgThe stellar jays that live in the cedar trees around my house are regular visitors.

574-crow1.jpgA crow prances on my deck.

Earlier on the weekend

And there were visitors who were also my guests for an earlier dinner.

575-northernflicker1.jpg
A northern flicker samples the suet.

576-northernflicker2.jpg

The northern flicker perches on top of the suet feeder.

577-crowoct3.jpgAnother crow at the suet.

578-juncos.jpg
Dark-eyed or Oregon juncos at the suet feeder.

579-savannahsparrow.jpgA Savannah sparrow samples the suet.

580-2stellarjays.jpg

The local stellar jays on the deck feeder.
October 10, 2011 Robin Rowland
jaycrow , Oregon junco , red-winged blackbird , savannah sparrow , sparrow , stellar jay , suet , Thanksgiving

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