And Now: Gratuitous Green Jay Photos
In case you don't already feel the necessity to go to South Texas next year, I offer this.
One of the highlights of visiting the Rio Grande Valley Bird Fest are all the green jays. They are so gorgeous and about as common as blue jays are for many of us.
Here, guide Richard Gibbons gives a young boy a recently banded green jay to be released. What a cool bird for a kid to get to see up close and even touch. That's a magic moment right there and that's where a kid will get "BIRDS ARE COOL!" burned into their brain.
Now that I look at this bird closer, it really matches the WingScapes logo. Just soak in that bird's color for a moment. I never get tired of watching them when I visit the area. What's fun is that there is a much more rare jay for the area called a brown jay (which I tried for and missed). Non Birding Bill thinks birders are nuts to try and go for the brown one and not just focus on the green one.
As cool looking as this bird is, keep in mind that it is a member for the jay family. And just like our boisterous blue jays, these colorful birds will eat eggs and nestlings of other bird species. I wonder if that's easier to tolerate when a bird is this strikingly gorgeous?
The banders were kind enough to offer to let me hold a green jay. I didn't quite do it right, I'm used to holding larger birds like pelicans and raptors, not tiny songbirds, but I still really appreciated holding something to unbelievably beautiful in my hands. I even got a life bite.
When I let the bird go, you could see all the bright yellow feathers under the wings and on the sides of the tail. Really, how colorful does a bird need to be? What a treat to see a living, breathing emerald with sapphire, onyx and gold accenting it?
One of the highlights of visiting the Rio Grande Valley Bird Fest are all the green jays. They are so gorgeous and about as common as blue jays are for many of us.
Here, guide Richard Gibbons gives a young boy a recently banded green jay to be released. What a cool bird for a kid to get to see up close and even touch. That's a magic moment right there and that's where a kid will get "BIRDS ARE COOL!" burned into their brain.
Now that I look at this bird closer, it really matches the WingScapes logo. Just soak in that bird's color for a moment. I never get tired of watching them when I visit the area. What's fun is that there is a much more rare jay for the area called a brown jay (which I tried for and missed). Non Birding Bill thinks birders are nuts to try and go for the brown one and not just focus on the green one.
As cool looking as this bird is, keep in mind that it is a member for the jay family. And just like our boisterous blue jays, these colorful birds will eat eggs and nestlings of other bird species. I wonder if that's easier to tolerate when a bird is this strikingly gorgeous?
The banders were kind enough to offer to let me hold a green jay. I didn't quite do it right, I'm used to holding larger birds like pelicans and raptors, not tiny songbirds, but I still really appreciated holding something to unbelievably beautiful in my hands. I even got a life bite.
When I let the bird go, you could see all the bright yellow feathers under the wings and on the sides of the tail. Really, how colorful does a bird need to be? What a treat to see a living, breathing emerald with sapphire, onyx and gold accenting it?Labels: banding, green jay, ringing, Rio Grande Valley Bird Fest
posted by birdchick at 9:00 PM
6 Comments:
I would forgive a bird anything if it looks like that! They look like they are made of candy.
I have had a few "Birds are COOL" comments from my programs. To use your word, "WHOOT!".
They are beautiful, but I did once see a bluejay pecking its own pre-fledgling youngun and kicking it out of the nest to die on my driveway. That was an emotionally scarring experience for me, and now I fear bluejays a little.
I know it's not cool to love Jays but I do. Wow are those green jays spectacular! I thought our Steller's Jays were gorgeous but all that color. Amazing!
Susan,
I bet you get those moments all the time with your programs.
Oooo, Stellar's jays! I'd love to see one of those in hand.
I too am a big blue jay lover. I'll admit, they drive me nuts when they come by and their noisy calls sets off my cockatiel alarm. But the whole eating eggs and nestlings really doesn't bother me. As I type this, I'm eating scrambled eggs and I have a couple of pheasants thawing in the fridge that I plan on stuffing and serving for dinner tonight.
Those pics are fantastic! If only I had been able to get that close! Corvids are my favorite bird family, so naturally, when I visited South Texas Green Jays were high on my list of birds to see. That was the trip I learned how to take pictures through my binoculars, too! Here are the results, if you're interested.
Thank you for posting your lovely pics of the green jay. I LOVE LOVE LOVE all jays and infact all corvids. I was once the species manager of all the jays at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum/hospital here in California, and I've always longed to see a green jay. So far it has only been in the bird book! They are amazingly colored... and look like Groucho Marx with those bushy eyebrows, LOL!
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