My Little Junco

I'll admit it. I slept in today. My son Jay had some friends over late last night and I stayed up even later to talk to them. I haven't seen any of them as they have all been off to college.This afternoon I got productive and worked on a new set up for bird photography in the backyard. After it was completed I had to try it out to see how well it was working.There were very few birds around and I found out why when a Sharp Shin Hawk came ripping through narrowly missing snatching a Junco off of a perch.No wonder they were so skittish. I did manage a few images of the Dark Eyed Juncos. This one was my favorite. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Mug Shots

I have been spending a lot of time in the photo blind this week. For some reason there seems to be a lot of jays out at the ranch. Both Western Scrub Jay's and Steller's Jays sometimes even at the same time.Steller's Jays prefer a mountainous habitat with coniferous forests while scrub Jay's tastes run to oak woodlands and riparian habitats. The habitat where my blind is at is a transition between mountain and the riparian and pastureland habitats of the valley.It is a perfect overlap that's suited to the two species.

The bully boys have been taking over the feeder forcing the smaller birds to flee when they arrive. The jays take over for only a short time but it takes awhile for the small birds to become comfortable enough to return. Here are a couple of mug shots of some of the neighborhood bullies.

God's love and blessings to everyone,

chris