True Blue

I love watching the blue jays that visit our yard throughout the year.  Like all members of the corvid family, they are clever birds and have extremely tight and complex social bonds.  They also mate for life with mated pairs staying together, often with adult offspring, all year.  But in the springtime, before they start nesting, a mated pair can sometimes be observed engaged in courtship behavior, if one is very watchful.

Today I was in the hide on the patio when I saw these two fly in.  One stayed on the far side of the cherry tree, making soft noises while the other went to the suet feeder.  I held my breath, hoping that I was about to see this pair courthship feeding.  I oh so slowly moved the lens to focus on the bird perched in the back of the tree and then I just waited, finger poised on the shutter.  Sure enough, the male flew up with a beak of suet and - snap, snap, snap - he fed her a morsel.  I got exactly 4 shots and this one, while not the most perfectly focused, is my favorite.  The female is on the left, receiving the blue jay version of love's true kiss.  I hope they have a productive brood and that I'll have the joy of seeing them bring their babies around later in the spring/summer.

It is another chilly day with showers in the forecast.  I'm really tired of this weather, tired of having to bundle up to go outside.  

Hubs' is still battling the man-cold.  I think it is being exacerbated by spring allergies, making for a miserable Hubs.  I visited MIL last night since he really can't be going into the nursing home with a cold.  I'll probably pop over and see her later today, too.  

So, an early blip, but I don't think I'm going to get better than this today. I've put my second favorite shot from this sequence in Extra - it's a technically better photo, I think, but lacks the emotional element. 

Happy Thursday...

xo
Debbi