Monday, June 19, 2017

Something You Don't See Every Day

 

A few flowers and the beginning of the bee skep. Yep, I have been stitching a bit each day. 

I found a neat new cross stitch blog the other day.  It's called Stitching Friends Forever.  The two gals are doing a great job as newbie bloggers, and they are having a nice give away.  Take a look here



 Have you ever stopped to consider that you almost never see a baby pigeon or jay? They generally are full-sized and look and behave like adult birds by the time they fledge so are impossible to distinguish.


Except in this case! 

Here's a newly fledged Steller' Jay.
Notice all the downy gray feathers on the bird's back. 

And this is typical fledgling begging behavior.
Spread wings...

The mouth shows bits of red.

The crest is black rather than deep blue.

Squawking loudly.

Every bit as big as the adult Steller's Jay.

Does not yet have the deep blue 'brows' above the eyes.

Mouth open wide - "FEED ME!"

The adult bird (on the left) never fed the juvenile, but they did fly off together.

9 comments:

CalamityJr said...

I love today's photos. What an interesting lesson on the young Steller's Jay.

Robin in Virginia said...

Beth, thank you for sharing the pictures of the fledgling plus the info you provided. Wow!

arcadia said...

Marvelous pictures !

RJ said...

The Steller Jay is gorgeous! I've never seen one before but my husband saw lots of them when he hiked Pike's Peak a few years ago. He was so impressed with their beauty and color too.

Sending a big hug for mentioning us...that was so sweet of you. I wish you luck in the drawing. RJ @ stitching friends forever

Carol said...

How neat that you spotted a "baby" Stellar Jay, Beth! You're right--I've never seen baby Blue Jays before... I always learn something when I visit you :)

And, yay for the new stitching! Love those pretty colors :)

Barb said...

Such interesting photos of the Jay. I have never seen a young one either. We have had a rash of bears at the feeders up here. One was across the street and one two houses away form us. Oh well, this was their home first. Love your new project. Thanks for the heads up on the new blog, I will check it out.

deb said...

Such a sweet, pretty stitch you're working on!

Fascinating looking a the pictures of the fledgling jay - thank you for posting those!

Justine said...

Your American birds are so pretty! I love your new stitch too.

Maggee said...

Great progress on the stitching! And as for that junior Jay--who knew?? Thanks for all those tips... Even though it won't technically apply to any birds out here, IN GENERAL, these are things to watch for in all birds in the fledge season! Hugs!