Fly, My Little Birdie!

More confirmation this morning that blue jays nested around here: somebody got pushed out of the nest and was trying out his new wings.



Mom and Dad were lurking overhead and shouting out encouragement. I tried to be cautious in moving around him, to keep everybody from getting too antsy.


He was working hard at it but slow to get the hang of it. Still, I appreciate a little natural treat like this since city living makes these kinds of things fewer and farther between.





As the afternoon wore on, I tried to keep an eye on the little bugger. At one point, he'd flown over into the neighboring gravel parking lot, and that didn't seem to bode well for his future, so I went out and scurried him back into my backyard. His parents stayed close by, watchful, calling to him, chasing off other birds if they came in close. I sat outside a while with my camera, hoping to snag a good shot of the whole family, but they're much too cautious for that. Here's one of mama as she swooped down, upchucked, and fed the boy.

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After I came inside to sit by the fireside and work on my computer, I spotted a bit more blue jay activity: the parents were giving an invading squirrel a run for his money, because his quest for scraps and spillage from the backyard bird feeder brought him way too close to their darling little offspring. They were relentless...wish I had a camera that would have let me capture the action. This is a shot of the squirrel as he worked his way forward, but I wasn't able to get any shots of the pair of blue jays swooping in on him and squawking.

Ah, my cozy little universe with the smallest smattering of wood and wildlife...