Saturday, August 15, 2015

AN ADVANTAGE OF SLOTH

Since I've moved my desk over a couple of feet, I now have an unimpaired view of our bird bath. It gets a variety of visitors: goldfinches (nearly always in pairs), house finches, a rufous towhee (who likes to bathe as well as drink), the damnable doves, a rare robin, and this guy - a mountain jay.

He seems to be very nervous, jumping around, chirping, and not staying long.


To date, this is the only picture I've been able to get of him. He likes to jump from twig to twig in the tree just above the bird bath and then he moves down the trunk.


He seems to defy gravity, sometimes perching on the side of the tree with his head down, then quickly moving to another position. I mentioned my amazement at his tree-gripping ability to SWMBO the other day.


She said "He doesn't clip his toenails."

Hmmm. Why didn't I think of that?
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10 comments:

  1. LLAugust 15, 2015 at 9:56 AM

    So that's where all my birds went! I sold the fountain and they flew the coop! I put up a small bird bath but no takers. I'm waiting for a solar bubbler coming on a slow boat from China and hope that the moving water will lure them back. Love those Western Scrub Jays. Though the Blue Jay of Michigan is a prettier jay.

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    Replies
    1. CatalystAugust 15, 2015 at 9:59 AM

      You sold that nice fountain in your front yard? The one the hummingbirds loved? I liked it too.

      And you're right about the Blue Jays. I wish we had them here.

      Delete
    2. LLAugust 15, 2015 at 11:06 AM

      I refused to clean that fountain one more time. It required the wet vac and white vinegar and brushing and rinsing and sieving out snails, dead birds, and leaves. $50 on craigslist. Gone in an hour of positing.

      Delete
  2. Tom CochrunAugust 15, 2015 at 10:21 AM

    The Jays here are loud and aggressive. Don't you love the name Rufous Towhee? Sounds like blues player from Memphis.

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  3. joehAugust 15, 2015 at 11:11 AM

    The Jay looks like he flew into the tree and got stuck!

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  4. stephen HayesAugust 15, 2015 at 11:15 AM

    I never thought birds clipped their own toenails. I was imagining a hole in a tree trunk where they went for pedicures.

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  5. Should Fish MoreAugust 15, 2015 at 12:33 PM

    Growing up we called them 'camp robbers', for their proclivity to pick up things and fly off.

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  6. TomAugust 15, 2015 at 1:28 PM

    It is odd, this apparently shy behaviour on the part of the jay. We have noticed the same thing in our garden when it comes to feeding in the winter. I do like the way you have moved your desk, and/to get a better view of the bird bath.

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  7. ValAugust 15, 2015 at 2:00 PM

    Come on! Would you want somebody watching you bathe?

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  8. SharonAugust 16, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    When my friend David had his cabin in Yarnell, he had many mountain jays that visited the yard. He had a special feeder that he filled with peanuts (in the shell). Then I'd sit on the porch, camera ready and watch them swoop in for a peanut. They could clean out the feeder in about 30 minutes.

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