Up to something...

Blue jays ... always up to something, and always able to bring a smile with their antics. Like all members of the Corvid family, they are clever birds and I find them fascinating to watch. Today I saw one take a peanut, bury it in the yard and then carefully pick up a large leaf and tamp it into ground where the peanut was buried, as if to hide it. Here, you see a pair who were trying to calculate the odds of getting closer and snatching more peanuts. You can almost hear their internal dialog, can't you?

So you think it's safe, Jezebel?

I'm not sure - that black thing is creeping me out. And she's got it pointed right at us...

Yea, but there are peanuts...

Okay, okay, but you go first!

Or something like that.

Thanks for the encouraging words yesterday. I'm in less of a funk today, so am chalking it up to seasonal blues. Nothing a few hours outside with a camera won't cure, right?

Yesterday's photo of the yellow-rumped warbler was picked by the National Audubon Society for their Facebook Page and has gotten over 2,000 views - that was quite a thrill.

Last year I saw (and blipped)my second ever red-breasted nuthatch - it remains one of my personal favorite photos. It was also a day before Hurricane Sandy hit our area - little did we know what was headed our way...

I've posted five other shots on Flickr, starting HERE - all probably technically better shots that this one, but this remains my favorite for the day. One of life's little moments...

Happy Monday!

Debbi