Blue Jays

4th in my series of  birds with a crest, is the ever present Blue Jay.  The Blue Jays' songs (such as it is - more like a squawking) are heard from quite a distance. They rival Crows with their racket - the noisy neighbors in the hood - always arguing about something.  But  the Blue Jay's beautiful feathers like fine mosaic tile is always pleasing to behold. Attracting Blue Jays was one of my main goals for putting up an open feeder in the backyard, and sure enough within a month Blue jays were frequenting the feeder. Below top, a pair of Jays having breakfast (11-21-09), and below bottom I captured this Blue Jay just before he flew off  (1-31-10)

Tufted Titmouse

I might as well do a series of photos - "Birds with Crests." The photo below (11-14-09) is a Tufted Titmouse. It was the only time I witnessed it visiting my home-made open bird feeder, which I put up in October of 2009. He hung around for a morning and I never saw it again. Judging by the size of the morsel in his beak, he must have had enough to eat, then moved on. They generally stick around these parts for the winter, but I never saw another one until late in May at Kishwaukee Springs Forest Preserve.

Cedar Waxwing

Another bird sporting a crest is one of my favorites - Cedar Waxwings.  They seem to band together in small flocks. I've seen them foraging on the ground, picking berries in  bushes, as well as perching high in trees and suddenly dive bombing to the ground. I always get a kick out of seeing them, because they are so colorful, have a unique silhouette, and always seem to be having fun flittering about.

Of the four Waxwing photos here, my favorite is (Above: 6-14-10, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina). He seems to be looking at me with as much curiosity as I looking at him.  It was almost as if he was grinning at me, wondering what the heck I was doing with that big black metal/plastic/glass monstrosity in front of my face - "You know I can still see you hiding behind that thing," he is thinking.

Below are three more decent Cedar Waxwing photos: Below top, also 6-14-10, North Carolina; Below Middle: 5-17-09, Rock Cut State Park,IL; Below bottom: 8-2-09, also at Rock Cut.

Red-crested Cardinal

In honor of our country's Independence day celebration, I tried to find a red, white and blue bird. The closest could find in my files of birds was this great photo of a Red-crested Cardinal, which Val snapped while she was hanging around a beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Some of the Hawaian residents called them Brazilian Red-caps, but I found out later that those are completely separate species. They were fairly common to see on Oahu and Kauai.

Val's photo of a Red-crested Cardinal, Kauai, Hawaii; 7/11/2008.

Black and White Warbler

The Black and White Warbler acts more like a Nuthatch than a Warbler. It clings onto tree trunks gleening them for insects. A small object zoomed past me like a bullet while I was hiking in the Big South Fork River and Recreation Area in Northern Tennessee.  I didn't see where it landed, so I just aimed my camera in the general area where I thought it might have gone, and shot without even knowing what I was focussing on.  Upon looking at my photo images and zooming in on this frame, I found the little guy clinging to a tree. Not a great picture as far as clarity is concerned , but I marvelled that I even got an image at all.

Brown Thrasher

I was actually at the Atlanta Zoo with my gal, Val (she loves zoos), and even with all the captivating (no pun intended) animals at our disposal, I still seemed more interested in the uncaptured wildlife. I followed this Brown Thrasher around the zoo grounds until I could find him still long enough (at least one second) for the pic below (6/17/10). Thank you Canon for the "Sports Mode."

White-eyed Vireo

The White-eyed Vireo is often hiding low in thick bushes. I spotted this little guy (Below) while finishing a hike on the Kingsnake Trail in the Congaree National Park, SC (6/19/10). I heard him singing for several minutes before I finally saw him hiding in the leafy brush, and it took another several minutes of stalking him until I could get him sitting still enough (and somewhat open enough) to focus. Although it's not a great pic, I kind of like the quality of the blurred leaves surrounding him - it gives him a  mysterious and ethereal quality.