Blue Jay

Went to Saw Wee Kee Park on the advice of ebirder Mary.  Someone throws bird seed on the ground by the parking lot, attracting birds and animals (cardinals, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, mourning doves, blue jays, tufted titmouse, sparrows, white nuthatches, squirrels, and hawks).  Walked down the trail and unexpectedly came face to face with a hawk sitting on a branch 6 meters away, but did not get a photo.

Have not previously been able to get close to a blue jay, but I stood by a post in the parking lot for a period and the prospect of an easy meal brought the birds back to the seed.

Blue jays are seen year round in the eastern U.S. and lower eastern Canada. They are larger than most song birds, and were only second to the mourning doves in the pecking order at this spot.