I have a about six Blue Jays that frequent my yard in Fall Creek, one of which has a hoarse call. I call it Horse, for lack of a better name. I hadn't heard Horse for a few months but heard it yesterday and looked out my kitchen window to see what was going on. It was scolding a squirrel that was eating the very last crabapples in my neighbor's tree. This went on for about five minutes while they took turns lunging at each other. First, the jay lunged at the squirrel, leaping from about three or four feet away from the squirrel in the same tree. The squirrel consequently leaped to another branch, seamlessly pursuing his red bounty. After a minute more of scolding, the squirrel suddenly took a three foot leap at the jay who immediately took the squirrel's former spot. A few more do-si-do's and the last of the fruit was devoured. This was a tree that had several hundred if not well over a thousand crabapples a few months ago, now all gone.
It has been so much fun to watch how much life and activity one tree can support. I've seen almost every local bird in this relatively small tree, including a Northern Parula, who visits briefly from time to time to glean insects in summer and fall. Most local birds (DE Junco, Mourning Doves, Gold Finches, White-throated Sparrow, House Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpeckers, Grackles,...) use it as a place to perch before they prepare to approach my feeders or the garden or to plan the trajectory for their next destination. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
