Awww! A Baby Jay! (And Other Stuff)

Processed a few more from last July. Hope you don't mind another unseasonal (for northern hemisphere folks) post.

If you squint a tad at the pic below, you'll see the airborne Tern trailing a length of fishing line. He must have picked it up on a dive. I hope there's no hook involved. In any event, I watch the bird successfully catch a few fish, so it didn't appear to be a significant detriment.

Despite posing nicely, the gull below appears a tad displeased.

Kingfishers are tough to photograph. They're very skittish and alert to the tiniest movement. So, I was thrilled to have one stay still for several shots. But he never took his eye off me.

One day last summer, while walking Ben, I came across a very young Bluejay on the path. It was standing, looking quite dazed and confused, beneath a large cedar tree. I then noticed three young ladies a couple dozen feet away, watching me watch the bird. I approached them and we chatted. The girls had noticed the bird and were waiting to see if Mom or Dad would be around soon to assist it. I joined them in watching for a while and we began discussing what the heck, if anything, we should do for the wee thing.

Long story short: One of the young ladies, Camille, was studying to become a wildlife rehabilitator. We decided she would take the bird home and at least give it some fluids. We stayed in touch via her friend Kara's email and I was very happy to hear that after a night of Camille's tlc, they returned the bird to where they found it and the parent bird was in the area and approached the baby right away.

Here's a close-up of the wee bairn.

And here he is with the heroine of the hour. Great job, Camille!

Below, a more advanced juvenile jay gets a bit of grooming from Mom or Dad.

Further research indicated that what I thought was a skinny dragonfly was actually a Spreadwing. Interesting-looking critter, though.

The dragonfly below is more common in my area than the spreadwing.

I'll wrap up this edition with a couple of flower shots. They might make Spring feel closer.

Lilies are always great subjects, all grace and wonderful colour.

I like Clematis plants. They're hardy and bloom for a long time. The blossom below caught the light just so - and begged to be photographed. Who was I to refuse?

That's a wrap for now, folks. Thanks for stopping by.