A bird in the hand is worth...
Saturday my husband and I visited Algonquin Provincial Park with birder/photographer friend Paul to enjoy the fall colour and, of course, to take photos of wildlife there. The leaves were approaching peak and you would NOT believe the carloads and busloads of people who had the same idea we had...so wildlife was scarce. But people-friendly gray jays can be depended on to appear as long as you provide them with dried cranberries and/or peanuts.
Thank you Mr. Nice Guy! I love peanuts!
After a few minutes, three gray jays arrived to eat and take away goodies to their secret stashes, preparing for winter.
FYI: The Gray Jays (AKA Whiskey Jacks) inside Algonquin PP wear bands because they are part of a research project. Gray Jays are amazing because they do NOT migrate but live through the winter eating the peanuts, dried cranberries and whatever else they have stashed away all summer, which they have hidden in places such as under tree bark. They must have incredible memories as they appear to find most of what they have hidden away!
Paul feeding and photographing a gray jay
Paul's photos can be seen HERE.
I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE
68 comments:
Great to see.
Neat shots. I am wonder why the Jay has band on each leg.
Love the pretty Jay! It is neat you can feed the birds and photograph at the same time.. Have a happy day!
I can't imagine any bird in my area being that habituated to human contact.
What a beautiful bird - what great photos.
LOVE the behind the scenes shot.
Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography
I can't believe they will eat from your hands. WOW. Handsome fella!
Beautiful shots. I see your husband is a dab hand at photography as well! Like Andy, I also wondered why the Jay sported two bands? Greetings. Jo
I have seen chickadees feed from your hand, but nothing larger! Cool images!
Bummer on all the tourists, but you got gorgeous jay photos!
The banded birds are, if I recall correctly, part of an ongoing study.
I've always liked gray jays. They have real character, and they're quite curious about you.
How lovely ... I'm used the blue jays I see around here ... my first gray jay! And to feed off a hand..... wow!
oh wow on the jay on the hand.. i would love to do that, of course i could not hold my hand out and the camera steady like he is, but i could hold one or the other. such a sweet bird
How marvelous that the jays eat out of the hand. Great photos!
Those jays are pretty tame. Makes for great shots.
Darla
i have done this and it is sooo exciting!! great captures!!
what a gorgeous little bird!!! store up, little one!
Wow - fabulous shots.
He's a cute little bird EG.. It never ceases to amaze me just how clever birds are.. Going over now to take a peek at your husbands shots.
It's fun when birds are so tame they'll eat right out of your hand. Nice photos!
These are great shots, EG!
I saw my first Gray Jays in Alaska (where our daughter lives). We don't get them here. Nice post and photos!
Love your first shot. Pretty amazing that Paul can feed and take pictures at the same time. :)
Amazing! I love our feathered friends.
Oh, I love these birds and the photos are terrific!! How fun to have them eat out of your hand!! What a great day it had to have been!! Thanks so much for sharing the fun and the beauty!!! Perfect way to start my day!!
Oh my gosh, your pictures are divine! And it is no easy task to feed a bird out of your hand and snap with the other hand. How is he able to do that with a big heavy camera? It really paid off though because the shot is wondrous and perfect. The perspective of the first shot is great, too. In the second shot, you can see he is storing them in his cheeks. How did I miss your rusted car below?? It would make a great huge planter!
P.S. The greens and yellows around this rusted car actually make the whole scene very pretty. I don't think I have ever seen anything so badly rusted out!
Wow! Love that last shot!
Amazing photos today. These grey jays are so tame.
What sweet little birds, and they seem very tame.
These are really wonderful images.
Amazing photo taken at arm's length! I once camped where Chickadees would eat nuts out of my hand. They are lighter than the Gray Jays. Paul did great with having one arm stretched out, very sharp. The 2 bands on the legs are funny. I used to see them in Colorado.
You got some great shots! He's a cutie.
Wow ! What adorable little bird ! Amazing shots !
what a beauty. love his coloring. new to me. ( :
happy week!
Wow, amazing photos !
He is an interesting little bird. Storing his food for winter. He must have good downy feathers to keep him warm in the cold Canadian winter. The photos are great with the golden light.
These are fantastic
These photographs are amazing.
I didn't realize there were gray jays. They are very attractive. I get lots of blue jays but no gray jays.
Wow! I have never seen a Gray Jay before. Beautiful shots!
It's a busy time up there, that's what I've heard from friends. Great photos, though! Thanks for sharing them!
Wow, that is amazing.
Oh wow! That is so special.
Oh my goodness, that birdie is so friendly and trusting.
Beautiful bird - super photos.
Wow! beautiful...
thanks
Wow; people-friendly gray jay♡♡♡ How great to see the wild birds to eat and take away foods from human's hand directly. Amazing pictures and great guy your friend Paul is(^_^)ｖ
Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*
Great post - and what a great looking bird.
I often wonder how much the bird feeding habits of people are affecting the biology of birds. They over winter in places they they never did before, and the weak pass trough a winter that would have claimed them in the past.
Nice post.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
What a beauty. I am happy to learn about these guys.
Peace :)
Beautiful photos! How cool to have them eat from your hand.
never seen or heard of a Grey Jay but it was wonderful that they were quite tame to come to the hand.
An impressive situation and a beautiful bird.
A large bird looking at your friend's hand and the other pix which are awesome!...:)JP
What a smart looking bird and some brilliant pictures.
Spectacular!! Love its eyes!!
Such pretty bird... Have a sunny week!
Wow, wow, wow. These are sensational. I've never seen the Gray Jay. I've only seen the Scrub and Western. And the regular Blue of course. Anyway, gorgeous!
Oh, me oh my....would love to have a bird eat from my hand! He is so pretty...the jay, not the photographer...LOL
Love the Gray Jay. Like a camp robber but so cute. MB
How cool EG. I have never seen one. Thanks for sharing these fantastic photos!
Awesome post, I see Stellar Jays all the time at work , but no camera or time to take photos :(
Dear!
what an amazing experience. I can't believe they eat out of your hand.
a cool experience. :)
The Gray Jay is a beautiful bird.
The Jays in parks in Canada are so trusting, very adapted to handouts, even so, it is always a thill to have a bird come to hand.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos and captures.
HOW MARVELOUS!!!
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