Blue Jay visiting Alberta for the winter

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ssheipel

ssheipel

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Blue Jays are occasional winter visitors to Alberta (guides usually say something such as "as far west as Alberta" when describing winter range); the resident jay here is the far-more-in-your-face whiskey jack (grey jay). Surprisingly, I saw and didn't hear the pair that this guy was a part of and they were less than ten feet off the ground, at some berries I suspect, and close! Sadly a large group of XC skiers went buy enjoying the outdoors with the sounds I'd reserve for shouting for a hockey team on a sports bar tv, but I digress. Anyway the jays moved way up in a tree where I had enough time for a couple of shots before they left and did not return; this the only shot with a head turn revealing an eye, luckily!
No bird can make blue with pigment, is my favourite avian trivia. Humans see birds as blue because of a filtering of the visible light spectrum by a protein in the feathers that only allows the blue light to be reflected back to us. And I'll stop now before I insult those that actually know what they're talking about on such matters :)

D6; 300 PF (w/1.4(iii) tc); handheld.

Blue Jay.jpg
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ssheipel said:
Blue Jays are occasional winter visitors to Alberta (guides usually say something such as "as far west as Alberta" when describing winter range); the resident jay here is the far-more-in-your-face whiskey jack (grey jay). Surprisingly, I saw and didn't hear the pair that this guy was a part of and they were less than ten feet off the ground, at some berries I suspect, and close! Sadly a large group of XC skiers went buy enjoying the outdoors with the sounds I'd reserve for shouting for a hockey team on a sports bar tv, but I digress. Anyway the jays moved way up in a tree where I had enough time for a couple of shots before they left and did not return; this the only shot with a head turn revealing an eye, luckily!
No bird can make blue with pigment, is my favourite avian trivia. Humans see birds as blue because of a filtering of the visible light spectrum by a protein in the feathers that only allows the blue light to be reflected back to us. And I'll stop now before I insult those that actually know what they're talking about on such matters :)

D6; 300 PF (w/1.4(iii) tc); handheld.

View attachment 11673
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Nice shot Steven, It really shows off it's pattern.
 
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Blue Jays are one of the few birds that I actually prefer a picture from behind, just to highlight the details of their plumage. The trick is getting them to look back over their shoulder! Nice story too, funny!:D
 
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nice shot. they are quite common here in Kentucky where I live. My wife and I call them the "tattle tales of the forest". They always hang out in the trees and sound an alert to every other forest creature when predators and other danger is in the area. If we hear a bunch of blue jays making noise, we always look around for a hawk or an owl and frequently find one. They also seem to warn every other creature of our presence on the trails too. I find them beautiful birds.
 
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Silver Eagle said:
Thanks for sharing the photo, and the info. Lucky birds, they can still travel to Alberta.. unless they get the bird flu, I guess. :D
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Yah, Alberta's COVID numbers are good reason to stay clear! :)
VStammer said:
Blue Jays are one of the few birds that I actually prefer a picture from behind, just to highlight the details of their plumage. The trick is getting them to look back over their shoulder! Nice story too, funny!:D
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Thanks.
 
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jeffnles1 said:
nice shot. they are quite common here in Kentucky where I live. My wife and I call them the "tattle tales of the forest". They always hang out in the trees and sound an alert to every other forest creature when predators and other danger is in the area. If we hear a bunch of blue jays making noise, we always look around for a hawk or an owl and frequently find one. They also seem to warn every other creature of our presence on the trails too. I find them beautiful birds.
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You may have to hire a jay as a photo assistant :) They are common in the east, here; frequent feeder visitors, even in cities. Agreed, gorgeous bird, including their 'noise' :)
 
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