stellar's jay

We've lived here for 15 years and this is the first time we've seen a stellar's come this close for the peanuts. I got this image through the dirty windows (I've since washed them!).

Normally these jays stick to the higher mountains around us but we've got three that have stayed all winter. This one landed just outside our garden on a foggy day.

Several of these jays are staying around our neighborhood. They come close to my garden but I still haven't seen one at a feeder.

Still a large crop but this is the first year these jays have stayed around our home and each day they seem to come just a little closer.

A huge crop but I'm enjoying these jays that have been here for a week now. They're normally found higher up in our mountains but I guess we have enough tall pine trees to keep them happy.

This Stellar's Jay, of a small flock of six, was the noisiest and the most aggressive, not only towards the others of the group but the other birds in competition for the bird feeder!

I watched the overheated Jay preen out the feathers in our 90+ degree temp, until it was the fluffiest Jay I've ever seen. Have never noticed this effect before, and each feather spline is unhooked and separated from the next for airflow. We had Robins on the ground with wings fanned out and...