Blue Jay Follow-Up

I turned to a must have resource for Indiana birders concerning the Blue Jays I saw this afternoon. I sought information from a book entitled Enjoying Indiana Birds by master birdwatcher, Bud Starling. The book was published in 1978 by Indiana University press, and while it is now out of print, I do not think a better book about Indiana birds exists. Bud Starling had a weekly column for years in the Indianapolis Star about all things bird watching. What made his column so interesting, besides the elegant and creative prose, was his advocacy on behalf of birds and their habitat. I really miss, as I am sure many others do to, reading his beautiful writings. On the Indianapolis Star web-site his writings are still available, but for a price, which I really don't like. I was able to find my own copy of his book at a used book sale in mint condition. Yes, I was very happy that day as I think I only gave one dollar for it! Inside of my copy I placed his obituary from the Star as Bud passed away in 2007. From all I have heard he was a kind and gentle man. If any of you ever met him I would love to have you post your recollections.
About the Blue Jays themselves, Mr. Starling had many things to say and I thought I would list some of the more interesting.
Blue Jays produce 4-5 offspring every Spring, they line their nests with pine needles, they can mimic a red-shouldered hawk perfectly, they are a year-round resident in Indiana, but they will migrate to the South at times, and they are known by their aggressive behavior and distinctive call of "jay,jay" and "thief, thief thief."
A beautiful bird that always adds a splash of color and a bit of happiness to otherwise long Winters here in Indiana. I know I sure appreciate them.

Stay Wild!
Steve

Curious Site

This afternoon, while checking the Opossum bait, I hear a noisy commotion high in my neighbors tree. There were several birds, which I thought were Blue Jays, and another bird making quite a noise. The gang of birds were Blue Jays and they soon flushed from the top of the tree followed by a small hawk. I imagine that the Jays had a nest in the tree and the hawk was an unwelcome visitor. Now, I do not know what kind of hawk it was, but I am going to consult some books and I will post later. I would like to comment however that to be a birdwatcher one simply needs to watch and take in birds whenever and wherever you see them. I love birdwatching, in fact I am working on getting a new set of binoculars right now. I would like to write about the different types and styles of binoculars in a future post. Other future posts will be on slugs, opossum update, Goldenrod, Obedient Plant, crickets and a very large snake.

Stay Wild!

Steve