Black and Blue

One of our neighbors, two houses to the north, has a bird feeder on her deck and keeps it well stocked with birdseed and peanuts. It's very popular with a variety of birds and squirrels.

The severe freeze of the last few days has resulted in heavier than normal traffic at the feeder. Sitting at my desk this afternoon, I saw four Steller's Jays, several crows, and two squirrels (one Douglas and one Gray), all trying to get to the feeder. The squirrels and jays took turns clinging to the feeder, while the crows performed amazing aerobatics to grab peanuts without landing. The airspace was crowded at times, but there were no mid-air collisions, just a few near misses.

Even with my longest lens, it was a stretch shooting from the office window. I had to do a lot of cropping, and the resulting photos aren't as sharp as I would have liked. This was the only one with two birds in flight. There are a few more photos on Flickr.