Feeling Poorly

Not me, this young blue jay. I was out having my morning tea when I spotted this youngster sitting on the patio, crest raised and feathers fluffed up. I thought it odd, so watched him for several minutes. (Jays usually don't raise their crests unless they are alarmed or distressed.) He didn't move so I quietly moved a little closer - still nothing, although he was watching me carefully. I finally got around to the other side and noticed that his left wing was hanging lower to the ground than it should. I immediately went inside and readied a "rescue box" thinking that this young jay might need to go the Giselle at the avian rehab. As luck would have it, I was unable to capture him - he successfully eluded me all over the yard, hopping just out of reach. Finally he flew a short distance - a relief since I didn't think he was able to fly until that point. He's been around all day, but he is quicker to fly now and seems to be doing better overall. I set out some shelled peanuts for him a short while ago and he filled his crop and flew a short distance into some shrubby growth. So, I think he'll be fine. Probably just some sort of avian sprained wing. He did give me a bit of a fright this morning though - especially knowing that my neighbor's feral cats are excellent hunters.

An otherwise quiet day with a few hours of work, a short hike, and some packing. I see the catbirds zipping into the shrub outside my office window all day now - carrying tasty insects to their nestlings. I'm not able to see the nest from here, but I know approximately where it is. Maybe I will be lucky enough to see them fledge. In other nesting news, the house wrens are definitely using one of my nestboxes for their second brood - same box the pair last year used for Brood 2. And there is a second pair of cardinals with a nest in the dogwood tree in our front yard, too. I've been seeing them carrying nesting materials in that direction and finally saw both of them zooming in and out with supplies this morning. Makes me happy.

And speaking of making me happy ... you all are the nicest bunch of people ever. You sent my little ovipositing robber to the top of the spotlight page where she stayed all day. I think I've managed to catch up with all the lovely comments - if not, bear with me. You are all awesome and I thank you very much.

And contributing to my overall sense of well-being... hubs will be home tomorrow night!

Cheers, people...

Debbi

And if you want to see my six other favorite shots from today (including two blue jay close ups), click HERE