Cyanocitta cristata, Blue Jay
Denny Henke @odd Yeah, they are a really beautiful bird! A bit rude to their bird neighbors and they squawk more than they sing but still, they probably make better neighbors than most people! I imagine a Blue Jay outside my window reading and think, hey dude, you think you're so great to live next to?
Anna Havron great photos! I love them, they are so entertaining to watch. @JMaxB I did not know that! Very cool!
One fall day, I got to see a hundred or so migrating. They flew in little groups of six or eight or so, headed south over the Blue Ridge mountains. I watched that for a couple of hours. Every few minutes, another flock of jays.
John Johnston beautiful bird, lovely pictures. Quite different from the jays here.
Denny Henke @annahavron Anna, glad you like the photos! That migration must have been very interesting to watch. @JMaxB I didn't know about the feathers! Thinking about it, I know almost nothing about feathers! I think I'll need to spend some time on Wikipedia!
Denny Henke @johnjohnston Glad you like them. Such a vibrantly colored bird, always fun to watch!
Denny Henke @JMaxB Oh, neat! I'm familiar with Rayleigh scattering! Fun to connect those dots!
Anna Havron @JMaxB Great site! I'm taking their nature journaling course right now.
Denny Henke @annahavron @JMaxB That course looks like it would be helpful. I know in astronomy sketching objects really helps one to see new details partly because of the added time looking but just the act of trying to reproduce something visually. Add to that the process of taking notes, recording the date, etc of observations and you've got a journal. I've not yet done that for bird/nature observations but it's been on my mind to do so.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the course Anna, thanks for pointing it out!
Greg Moore Bluejays are such beautiful birds! @JMaxB Fascinating! I didn't know that about their coloring.