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| Steller's Jays were pleasantly ubiquitous at our camp ground at Cape Lookout State Park along the Oregon Coast. With all the little Mortensen cousins running around, there was no shortage of tasty morsels falling to the ground for these jays to scarf up. Their antics are typical of their jay cousins the Bluejay, the Scrub-Jays, and the Gray Jays - boisterous and daring. Their blue color is just so dang pretty. Steller's Jays are pretty much limited to the western third of the North American continent and thrive in the pine forests of the intermountain states, as well in the lush woods on the west of the Cascades and Sierra mountains. eBird does show one vagrant record in Vermont from 1986, which must have been quite the twitch at the time. Though fairly common in the mountains of Idaho, they are not too often seen in the valley. |
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Did you know? Georg Wilhelm Steller (10 March 1709 – 14 November 1746) was a German botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer, who worked in Russia and is considered the discoverer of Alaska and a pioneer of Alaskan natural history. (Wikipedia)
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| Least Sandpiper without a flock. It's not too often I see a solo Least Sandpiper, but here was this little guy all by his lonesome at Herrick Reservoir, Round Valley, Idaho. |
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| A large family group of House Wrens thrives near my friend's cabin in Round Valley, Idaho. Their loud chatter made them all the more conspicuous. I sat down in the grasses near a pile of branches that they seemed to enjoy. I'm not great at aging wrens, but these guys seem to me like hatch-year birds as they just look fat and fluffy with new unworn feathers growing in. They'd better grow up quick as migration is just days away. See the animated eBird map below showing the migration patterns. |
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| Recently I've been seeing more and more Red-tailed Hawks soaring on summer afternoon thermals together in what I suppose are family groups. The image above is actually a composite of the same bird as it circled around my head. That image on the left is kinda funny as it seemed to notice me noticing it and put on the air brakes for a second. |
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| Can you name this sparrow? |
What a great "kettle" of Red-tailed Hawks you captured, just brilliant, and yes, the one seems to be saying..., I see you down there, photographing me;')
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice words about my "composite" kettle.
DeleteWonderful photographs of beautiful birds! I look forward to the day I see my first Steller's Jay. They really are cool looking birds. Awesome composite of the Red-tailed Hawk captured in-flight!
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie. Steller's Jays are pretty cool. I wouldn't mind having a few more regular Blue Jays here in Idaho. We get a couple every year, but not consistently and often in far-flung locations.
DeleteEnjoyed your post Robert. Did you seal the deal with a Vesper Sparrow there at the end, or are we looking at a pale Savannah Sparrow?
ReplyDeleteVesper Sparrow it is! Well done.
DeleteInteresting post, Robert! Those shots of the Steller's Jays are awesome! The composite is very well done - you could have fooled me, except I have never seen mature Red-tailed Hawks that close together - they are not extroverts.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Red-tailed Kettle, but you're right...they don't keep a tight formation like my composite image.
DeleteGreat post Robert! That is a wonderful composite image. I know I'd love to see more Stellar's Jays, I need to get into the mountains more.
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