Rfalconcam Forum

With apologies for jumping the gun, I will follow Patti's corrupting example and start a new letter a bit early...I can't post later, and I want to start the Js with JAYS!

I'm sure lots of people will have JAYS to post - there have already been some...

I took these (and a zillion more, thanks to someone's leftover french fries) in Big Sur.

JAYS, steller's jays and california scrub jays

dale

one more...

the artist formerly known as JACKASS PENGUIN

Taken at Boulders Beach near Cape Town SA. Ignore the jackass in the red hat.
 
The African Penguin ... is found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands ...Because of their donkey-like braying call they were previously named Jackass Penguins. (wikipedia)

Dale

Speaking of Jay's, remember Henry from a few years back? He's the Blue Jay my dad rescued in his yard when he was a baby. Henry was like a dog, he followed my dad and me where ever we went. I was painting down the road from my dads house when suddenly, there's Henry, he found us. He landed on my shoulder and wouldn't leave us alone while we were painting.

Henry posing for a pic.



I always carried peanuts during Henry time.

We thought Henry would never leave as he had imprinted on us and he stayed around for about 9 weeks after he learned to fly. When I walked up the path to my dads house, Henry would land on my head, out of no where. He waited for my dad every morning, sitting on the porch railing, waiting for his peanuts. One morning, when my dad went out to greet Henry, he wasn't there. This was in late Oct. We like to think that he found himself a girl and lived happily ever after.



I miss you Henry, where ever you may be.  :heart:

In my defense (I'm not sure I should admit this, since I'll trade being corrupt for being a ditz), but I am traveling and got my time zones confused!

But...to follow Dale's lead as well, here's a Blue Jay contribution.  Even though Donna's story is much nicer, this is one of my favorite backyard jay photos.

Jay

I will add the jays that frequented my feeder!  Both are welcome, if raucous, visitors.  The scrub jay has a rounded head and the Steller's has a glorious dark crested head in its breeding plumage.  I often found peanuts buried in planters.

Gayle

Java Sparrow

It is also known as Java Finch, Java Rice Bird and Java Temple Bird.  Like many birds in Hawaii, The Java Sparrow is an introduced bird.  It travels in large flocks.  I found them on the Kona Coast on the big island where the hotels have set up feeders.  In their native Indonesia, they wreak havoc on crops, particularly rice.

Gayle

Jacana

The jacana has huge feet and walks around on floating vegetation.  Once the female lays the eggs, her job is finished and the male takes care of incubation and chick rearing.  This is a Wattled Jacana in Costa Rica.

Gayle

Jabiru

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabiru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabiru)

http://tinyurl.com/2uuftzy (http://tinyurl.com/2uuftzy)

Junco

Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They’re easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. One of the most abundant forest birds of North America, you’ll see juncos on woodland walks as well as in flocks at your feeders or on the ground beneath them. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Jungle Crow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Crow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Crow)

Jackdaw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackdaw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackdaw)

Northern Jacana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedi

The Northern Jacana or Northern Jaçana (Jacana spinosa) is a wader which is a resident breeder from coastal Mexico to western Panama, and on Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola. It sometimes breeds in Texas, USA, and has also been recorded on several occasions as a vagrant in Arizona.

The jacanas are a group of wetland birds, which are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone

Lorenz is wonderful, Aafke, I second that recommendation!

I LOVE Gayle's photograph of Jacana-in-the-leaves!
The picture MAK posted gives a good sense of the HUMUNGOUS feet that in Gayle's photo are busy wading.

dale

To add to the Jays that Dale, Donna, Gayle, and Patti posted . . .

Here are some of my photos (and antics) of the blue jays that I had this summer.

http://iowa2nh.blogspot.com/2010/06/bue-jays.html (http://iowa2nh.blogspot.com/2010/06/bue-jays.html)

--Mardean

Great pictures Mardean, the last one is very special.
greetings Aafke

Very nice pics Mardean. Thanks!

Oh, that last one is just terrific!!

One can never have enough Blue Jays. Our pair raise a family in our back yard every Spring.  They can do a flawless imitation of a Red Shouldered Hawk territorial defense call.  We sometimes leave peanuts on the windowsill for them to carry off to secret caches in the woods.

Paul

Thank you, Mardean!

What a delightful set of photos -- the action in them is wonderful, moving!  I didn't just glance at your photos and say, "Oh yeah, the Jay..."  I sat and looked and felt that I was actually seeing them, hearing them...  A delightful experience!

Best wishes,
Anne in Toronto

J is for Junco

Here is everything you could ever possibly want to know about Juncos and then some!
In addition to what MAK has already told us, that is!  Thanks, MAK!

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/ec/ec1603/

I just know that I really like them...  Always have!  Always will!

Silly little things you always wanted to know about Juncos, but were afraid to ask...

Males sing more than females. In fact, females rarely sing. (Gee, you really gotta wonder why...)
Juncos can use both feet at the same time to turn over leaves and search for food. (We all have our little eccentricities, so why not Juncos!)

Anne in Toronto


Photo: Noah Stryker (Oregon State)

The Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It is most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the Eastern Chaco region of Paraguay. It is the only member of the genus Jabiru. The name comes from the Tupi-Guaraní language and means "swollen neck".

First one I thought of was Junco!  TAKEN!  LOL!  So got creative! LOL!

Red Jungle Fowl

I found this Red Jungle cock on the island of Kauai.  Jungle Fowl were brough to Hawaii by the first Polynesians.  It is thought to be the ancestor of the modern chicken apparently based on observations made by Darwin.  Indeed it reminded me of the Leghorns back home on the farm (physical shape and features, not coloration).  Pure bred jungle fowl are thought to be near extinction.   Examples remain in Asia...Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.  I even found a Jungle Fowl organization:  http://dqcleanchicken.com/junglefowl/

Gayle

I love these little snow birds! You can only see the white under their tails when their in flight. I like watching them shuffle their little feet in the snow to find seeds too! They're just a joy to have around in the dead of winter. ;D

EXCELLENT RED CHICKEN, that is.

Linda, did you SEE this?

Aafke -- I love your European Blue Jay!!  They certainly look different from the North American ones, but they really are beautiful!!  Thanks so much for drawing it to our attention that the name Jay doesn't always mean just a blue bird.  One thing that they have in common with NA Jays is that they all LOVE peanuts!!

Best wishes,
Anne in Toronto

By the way, did you know that pigeons love peanuts?  They work away studiously, until they get a hole in the shell and then fling it around until it breaks!  I've seen them work as long as an hour to get inside!  Now that's determination!!  Or an addiction!! :hysterical:

Of course... She did too but was not impressed. She's a finicky old biddy. LOL

Parasitic Jaeger

The Parasitic Jaeger, also known as the Arctic Skua. can be found in far northern latitudes in North America and Europe.  I have seen them several times, but they are mere black dots on my photographs!

Dale, they are also kleptoparasites!  But it does not involve regurgitation!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_Jaeger

It was the Smithsonian Bird of the month.  There is a fine description of it here:
 http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/featured_birds/default.cfm?bird=Parasitic_Jaeger

Gayle

Patti, this is a wonderful photograph!  It illustrates to me that the only useful purpose for snow is to provide beautiful backdrops!

Gayle
A transplanted northerner

Thanks for the compliment...that was a horribly destructive ice storm where many trees were killed, power was out for half the city for up to two weeks, etc.  The silver lining was the bird photos!