Monday, February 11, 2013

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.

17 comments:

  1. Spring is hastening along with your help. The ho;;y trees in the mid-Atlantic region are full of migrating robins and the temperatures are testing the mid fifties (f) today. By the week end we are looking for a further test of forecast snow. I might go searching for adventurous trout. Thanks for the pics, my friend.

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  2. It surprised me that the parent bluejay would approach the baby in parental mode after the baby had been gone overnight. Bless Camille's heart for helping the little one. Great shot of it, by the way. That dainty little spreadwing made the Dragonfly look like a monster. Great shots of both of those, too.

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  3. For future reference, baby jays should be fed cat food that has been soaked in water. This from the wildlife rehab hospital people here -- we feed the little ones, and if the parents don't come back, take them to those wonderful folk. Although i'm glad the parent came, in this case!

    Yes, i could use some flowers right about now.

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  4. That baby jay is so cute!!!! I'm glad it had a happy story.

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  5. Great pics Frank. the baby jay may have just fallen from the nest or just fledged. glad to hear that it was reunited with it's parents.

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  6. Just as lovely the second time around. I love your zoomy shot of the kingfisher. I wonder if the terns will re-tern again this year.

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  7. - Bruce, I hope your signs of spring aren't false alarms and that you can get out trouting. Most of the water hereabouts is of the hard variety.

    - Linda, I was somewhat surprised too. But I've since done some reading and found that most birds have a poor, or nonexistent sense of smell, and human contact with a fledgling doesn't make it fledgling-non-grata to the parents.

    - Mimi, I'll keep that tip in mind. Thanks.

    - Me too Barbara.

    - Thanks Ellen.

    - Thanks, Hil. As long as there's good fishing, the terns will retern. :)

    Thanks all, for your kind words and taking the time to visit and comment.

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  8. Well, grand to welcome your gift of prose and glorious photos into my day. I love the stories, reflections and the mere mention of Kissable Benny makes me smile.
    I shant tell you how totally gawjus it is in Sandy Eggo today, you can imagine. One of these days I will get my act together using your fine inspiration and take some pics.
    Thanks for your many gifts, FB.

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  9. What great pics! Thank you for sharing these, Frank. I love the birds! :)

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  10. Wonderful pics, Frank. I love the look on the Kingfisher's faces. So glad the baby jay is okay.

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  11. Baby birds and brilliant blossoms bring spring a little closer - thanks :)

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  12. - Gayle, I appreciate all those kind words. How much do I owe you? ;)

    - Glad you liked, Dawn. :)

    - Me too, Leah. Thanks for the props.

    - You're welcome, Pauline.

    Thanks all for taking the time.

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  13. Well, I am very late to the party. Lovely shots and I am glad the baby jay got back to his parents.

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  14. So glad the young lady was able to help the baby jaybird. They can be a nuisance, but all babies of Nature are precious. I think that last flower is seen a lot around here growing on mailboxes. Lovely work as usual.

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  15. Well that was a treat! Another post worth the wait.

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  16. Reb, any time is a good time to join the party. :)

    Thank you, Linda.

    Thanks, Daniel.

    You're all very kind. I appreciate it.

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