My sassy new steller's jay and nasturtiums by Kel Tait!
Cyanocitta stelleri: A North American corvid bird, common in the Northwest’s coniferous mountain and coastal forests.
cypress mountain, west vancouver, bc.
From the setup... a Steller's Jay in flight. Getting these birds in flight is much easier said than done. I thought it wouldn't be too hard to get a flight shot, but it ended up taking quite a while to get this shot, which I am very happy with! They come in very fast (way too fast for even the fast autofocus on my lens) and it is unpredictable where on the setup they will land. After a while of trying however, I managed to get this shot! The light was not very good so I ended up having to use a very high ISO (4000). Next step is to try to get this shot when there is some more light so I don't have to set the ISO so high. Taken in Vancouver, BC, Canada, in September 2014. Canon EOS 60D | Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM | manual focus | 1/2000 | ISO 4000 | f/5.6 | flash
Steller's Jay, North Cheyenne Canyon Park, Colorado From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: A large, dark jay of evergreen forests in the mountainous West. Steller’s Jays are common in forest wildernesses but are also fixtures of campgrounds, parklands, and backyards, where they are quick to spy bird feeders as well as unattended picnic items. When patrolling the woods, Steller’s Jays stick to the high canopy, but you’ll hear their harsh, scolding calls if they’re nearby. Graceful and almost lazy in flight, they fly with long swoops on their broad, rounded wings.
"Quasimodo" is one bad-ass Jay. He's louder, nastier and pushier than the others - clearly the survival tactic of a deformed bird. In December, he arrived with a much longer lower beak. He was in rough shape with skewed feathers, stressed from fighting to survive with a beak that prevented him from eating properly. Happily, the protruding lower part somehow broke off. Although his beak function is still wrong, he's able to eat more normally. We help by laying out loads of cracked peanuts for him. It's unclear whether disease or genetic accident are factors, but pollution appears to be the culprit. An increasing number of deformed hawks, Jays, chickadees and eagles are being seen - 30 different species of Alaska birds have been found with huge curved beaks up to 3X usual size. Often the beak is so long that the bird can't feed or preen effectively and dies. The first deformed beaks appeared in chickadees near Anchorage in the 1990s, the latest are crows in s/w Alaska. alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/beak_deformity/... Alaska Science Center blames these deformities on organochloride pollutants; compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins known to damage bird DNA — persistent pollutants from waste incinerators. Although production of PCBs has been banned since the 1970s, their effects are still felt, and many are still used in Asia. This is very bad news, as vast amounts of unchecked Asian pollutants drift north and around the globe ... another Silent Spring of sorts ? (www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp) fFacebook | Twitter | Getty Images site
Stellar Jay by Kristy Secord Blount is a top quality animal photo. View this photo and more on Pixoto.com.
The contrast of a Blue Jay’s bright feathers against the winter snow is simply stunning! #WinterBirding #BirdsInSnow #NaturePhotography #WildlifeLover #SnowyWonders
Stellar Jays live in the pine forests in Southern California's mountains. Oregon Dark Eyed Juncos are local birds and are related to sparrows. Burrowing Owls are "a species of special concern," in Southern California, where much of their natural habitat has been destroyed by development. Petitions are being submitted to the state to change their…
For several years a Steller’s Jay nest has held chicks. The adults built the nest above a light fixture on the outside of our house in Anchor Bay. The nesting female was so quiet, you hardly …
Started feeding again today after a long absence. We have to wait until Grizzly and Black Bears have denned .. and I think the bird food is safe now ... (Steller's Jay here.)
A mesmerizing close-up of a Blue Jay’s intricate feather pattern. Nature’s artistry at its finest! #MacroPhotography #BirdCloseUp #BlueJay #WildlifePics #NatureBeauty
https://images.app.goo.gl/XTAchyJWgdDaYbSn6
This bold bird is frequently found scavenging in campgrounds and picnic areas in the North American West.
A common North American corvid bird of the Northwest’s coniferous forests.
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The scrub jay, like other jays, has a lot of character. You can spend many hours watching them in and around the feeders and yard. The long tail, streamlined body, and non-crested head make this jay appear longer and slimmer than other jays.
“I moved quickly as soon as this Steller's Jay landed. I had to back up a bit to get his whole body in the composition, knowing I wouldn't get a second chance. Their long body and tail make them challenging to frame up in the photo. As soon as I got this shot, he flew away. #birds”
