Meet Mr. Floofy Knickers, King of the Yard!

You have already met several of the visitors to our feeders. There is Tidbits, the tufted titmouse, one of our most loyal peanut aficionados. And don't forget the bright red cardinal. They have been joined at the buffet on occasion by a white-throated sparrow. And the Blues Brothers (a pair of blue jays). And of course there are the bunnies, Mini Bunzini and Spot.

But there is an even bigger blue jay who is the king of all the birds in our yard, simply based on size. While the Blues Brothers tend to arrive together, and are of similar stature and girth, a bigger jay who generally arrives alone outsizes them all. You may call him Mr. Floofy Knickers.

On this particular morning, it was very cold again, maybe minus 3 or so degrees F. And all of the creatures were hitting the feeders like crazy, trying to grab some calories to keep them warm. By the afternoon, the temperature was sunny and in the 20s, and my husband and I went for a lovely hike along Spring Creek; but it was a cold start to the day.

Mr. Floofy Knickers was among the mid-morning arrivals, and he sat in the peanut tray and ate to his heart's content. He is quite large, as you can see, but some of why he looks so large is that he was also fluffed up to keep warm. (No, he's not fat; he's just fluffy!)

The song to accompany this photo of a rather avoirdupois looking bird is the wonderful Meghan Trainor hit, All About That Bass. Now, my momma, she told me, don't worry about your size . . . Every inch of you is perfect from the BOTTOM to the TOP!  :-)