Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, tested whether the dark birds’ striking blue-white eyes help them to protect nest sites. They found that jackdaws avoided nest boxes when they could see the eyes of a jackdaw inside. Experts suggest this is the first evidence that bright eyes could act as signals in the bird […]
Tag: Jay
Polar Vortex Winter Birds
It was a cold week in New York. As I sat writing at my desk by the window I saw the neighborhood birds in another light. One of the ways birds keep warm is by fluffing up their insulating feathers; they looked like puffballs all week. They have other ways to keep warm. Their feet […]
Last week in wildlife – in pictures
Fighting siskins, zebra-snouted seahorses and the world’s oldest wombat feature in last week’s pick of images from the natural world. This article was written and published by the Guardian UK.
South Texas Photography Trip
Over the last several years, in a number of photography forums I follow, I kept seeing wonderful images from several of the photography ranches in south Texas. Each year I would say, I need to get down there. Well, last summer I decided to plan the trip. I asked three of my photog friends if […]
Swallow-tailed Kites Return
Today I found three Swallow-tailed Kites near Jay Blanchard Park (actually in an abandoned horse farm behind my church parking lot). One of them flew pretty close to me. I suppose they’re creatures of habit, since I used to see them last year roosting in a tree right where these were flying. But these weren’t […]
Sunday Breakfast
I scatter seeds on my porch for the birds when the weather gets cold. This morning I had lots of visitors. Click on the photos to enlarge. House sparrows, Passerdomesticus, are always the first to arrive. They like seeds and breadcrumbs. They usually come in a group. The cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, eats seeds, nuts, and […]
The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
The Eurasian Jay is a common bird in the UK and a common, colourful member of the Crow family. They are an intelligent, resourceful, bird that will eat a variety of food including nuts, seeds and even other birds and small mammals whenever they get the opportunity. They are well known to cache away food […]
Update from the hide….. mainly Nuthatches
There will be more of these reflected shots to come but probably not today. I am “house-bound” due to the appalling weather and also lack of transport but I have had a nice week and a very successful one as well. I prefer cold bright frosty days, much better for bird watching and photography. Yesterday […]