Thank you to everyone who commented on the contest. I unfortunately put the date it ended on the 9th not realizing how long it would be. You gave me some great ideas and now it seems too long a wait but I'd better stick to my posting.
I've been painting the deck on my house and not enjoying it much so in between to get a break I started painting some birds too. I guess they are a favorite I always return to and in doing so I remembered how much I enjoyed Blue Jays.
We had a bird feeder that was constantly attacked by one persistent red squirrel and he was annoying enough with his constant chattering any time a bird tried to eat but I quit complaining about him after the Blue Jays arrived.
They are aggressive and loud and spend as much time scaring away other birds as they do eating. When their behavior or loudness isn't enough, they mimic hawk calls in the hopes of fooling the other birds. Needless to say they are very intelligent and if you want to read more or hear them you can go to this site Cornell All about the Birds
You can imagine the noise and fun watching a Blue Jay and a squirrel try to gain control of the bird feeder. It provided many hours of entertainment.
love your blue jay painting. I can imagine how much fun they must be to watch. I don't get many of them around here. I only spot one occasionally
ReplyDeleteVery pretty. When I used to feed the birds, I'd sometimes have to chase the jays away to allow the other birds to eat. They soon get used to you, though. They're obnoxious, but they're beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a Red Squirrel but I have heard and read that they are the meanest. I bet it is something to see one fighting a Blue Jay.
ReplyDeleteBTW...love your Blue Jay!
The Blue Jay is my favorite bird of all. (Besides the owl of course!)
ReplyDeleteYou paint him beautifully.
Beautiful Jay bird. They are aggressive. They love to eat the peanuts in the shells. Sometimes they fly down and remove them before the squirrels can get them. Also like the address label. And thanks for your visits.
ReplyDeleteWildlife is entertaining that is for sure.
ReplyDeleteI could look at your artwork all day.
I love the detail and the colours.
You are so lucky to be blessed with such a gift.
My father always he might come back as a jay.I always watched for him. I wrote a little piece about watching them lately.I never knew about the hawk calls.Glad you caught my Gertrude and Heathcliff title.
ReplyDeleteYour work is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteRed squirrels are rare here where I live. We used to call them "Red Jimmy" when there were here and I was growing up.
ReplyDeleteYou did a fabulous job painting the blue jay. You have an amazing talent! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeletehe's adorable!
ReplyDelete(to answer your question, my horses were having fun - we finally got some cooler temps here after 68 days over 100 degrees this summer, so they were feeling frisky... )
Carole, your jays are lovely. Over the past couple of weeeks I have been having some very loud visiting jays at the feeders. They do not share well with the other birds as you noted. But they are much prettier than the starlings and crackles which used to take over the feeders, so I tolerate these intruders - looks will get you far, even in the bird world.
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