North Country explorer from Pittsford, NY
This is a close up photo of a Blue Jay in captivity at the Tupper Lake Wild Center. The Wild Center often takes in birds and other species of animals who are in need of help and cannot often live on their own. Blue Jays have loud, noisy calls and inhabit the edges of forests. They are known for being territorial -- they often drive other species of birds away from bird feeders! Blue Jays are larger than Robins but smaller than Crows, and their diets consist of mostly seeds and acorns. In fact, they even spread seeds around to save them for later, forget about them, and those seeds begin to sprout into new plants. What I find most interesting about this photo is the beautifully intricate blue pattern on the birds feathers -- I was drawn immediately to it.