Winged Wednesday 2/18/2025: Open Theme and Jays

[Eric Gofreed]

It’s Winged Wednesday—where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re soaring, skimming, stalking, or just striking a pose… birds, bugs, bats, insects, or even airplanes—if it has wings, we want to see it. If it’s got wings, it belongs here.

My contriutions this week are Jays
Jays are members of the corvid family — cousins to crows and ravens — which means they come pre-installed with advanced software. They remember where they stash food. They solve problems. They recognize faces. And they absolutely do not believe in being subtle.

They are bold. Curious. Occasionally theatrical.
And beautiful — in a way that almost distracts you from the fact that they just stole something.
Whether it’s a desert Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, a mountain Steller's Jay, or a backyard Blue Jay, you never wonder if a jay is present. They make sure of that.

Green Jay (Texas)
“Green Jay” is one of those bird names that feels like the namer glanced at it for half a second, squinted, and said, “Yep. Green. Moving on."
I’m tempted to relabel it the Technicolor Jay—because “Green Blue Yellow Orange Black Jay” is accurate, but it won’t fit on most field guide pages.
Habitat: Thorn scrub, woodland edges, and feeders in south Texas and Central America.

Steller's Jay (yard bird a month ago)
Rock-star crest, mountain voice, and a talent for dramatic entrances.
Habitat: Conifer forests and mountain woodlands from the Rockies westward.

Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (Yard bird)
Desert sharp, street smart, and fully aware of where you hide the peanuts.
Habitat: Desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and suburban yards of the Southwest.

Brown Jay (Texas)
Less flashy, more bossy, earth tones.
Habitat: Tropical forests, woodland edges, and villages from south Texas into Central America.

Canada Jay (Canada)
Soft gray, gentle expression… and absolutely no fear of people. A lifelong commitment to eating out of your hand — so always travel with trail mix.
Habitat: Boreal forests and high-elevation conifer zones across northern North America.

 

[DES]

Backyard scrub jay......eating well.

 

[Trent Watts]

I enjoyed looking at those Jays Eric. The colours on that Green Jay are stunning.
For today's WW I'm going with birds photographed this week. We had a lovey warm spell and I was able to go to the river and see what I could find. Nothing spectacular but the kind of day I often get as a birder and am always overjoyed to see the birds even if they are common ones.

Taken from a long way from the birds. This is often what I get and thought I would put it in.

Further along the river about 25 Mallards were swimming near the shore and were not too worried about me being on the river bank.

A flapping session for this male while others are sleeping.

Many pigeons hang out under this bridge and a couple flew formation for me.

A few Canada geese hang out in the open water all year long an often rest on the edge of the ice in the middle of the river.

 

[DES]

It’s Winged Wednesday—where feathers, flutters, and flight steal the show! Whether they’re soaring, skimming, stalking, or just striking a pose… birds, bugs, bats, insects, or even airplanes—if it has wings, we want to see it. If it’s got wings, it belongs here.

My contriutions this week are Jays
Jays are members of the corvid family — cousins to crows and ravens — which means they come pre-installed with advanced software. They remember where they stash food. They solve problems. They recognize faces. And they absolutely do not believe in being subtle.

They are bold. Curious. Occasionally theatrical.
And beautiful — in a way that almost distracts you from the fact that they just stole something.
Whether it’s a desert Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, a mountain Steller's Jay, or a backyard Blue Jay, you never wonder if a jay is present. They make sure of that.


View attachment 87509
Green Jay (Texas)
“Green Jay” is one of those bird names that feels like the namer glanced at it for half a second, squinted, and said, “Yep. Green. Moving on."
I’m tempted to relabel it the Technicolor Jay—because “Green Blue Yellow Orange Black Jay” is accurate, but it won’t fit on most field guide pages.
Habitat: Thorn scrub, woodland edges, and feeders in south Texas and Central America.

View attachment 87507
Steller's Jay (yard bird a month ago)
Rock-star crest, mountain voice, and a talent for dramatic entrances.
Habitat: Conifer forests and mountain woodlands from the Rockies westward.

View attachment 87508
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (Yard bird)
Desert sharp, street smart, and fully aware of where you hide the peanuts.
Habitat: Desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and suburban yards of the Southwest.


View attachment 87510
Brown Jay (Texas)
Less flashy, more bossy, earth tones.
Habitat: Tropical forests, woodland edges, and villages from south Texas into Central America.


View attachment 87511
Canada Jay (Canada)
Soft gray, gentle expression… and absolutely no fear of people. A lifelong commitment to eating out of your hand — so always travel with trail mix.
Habitat: Boreal forests and high-elevation conifer zones across northern North America.

I really like the scrub jay in flight...and you're right of course about them knowing where the peanuts are. They were hiding peanuts around the yard and came back and found them the next year.

Darrell

 

[Eric Gofreed]

I enjoyed looking at those Jays Eric. The colours on that Green Jay are stunning.
For today's WW I'm going with birds photographed this week. We had a lovey warm spell and I was able to go to the river and see what I could find. Nothing spectacular but the kind of day I often get as a birder and am always overjoyed to see the birds even if they are common ones.

Taken from a long way from the birds. This is often what I get and thought I would put it in.
View attachment 87513

Further along the river about 25 Mallards were swimming near the shore and were not too worried about me being on the river bank.
View attachment 87514

A flapping session for this male while others are sleeping.
View attachment 87515

Many pigeons hang out under this bridge and a couple flew formation for me.
View attachment 87516

A few Canada geese hang out in the open water all year long an often rest on the edge of the ice in the middle of the river.
View attachment 87517

My motto: Eat, Bird, Sleep, and photography

 

[AlanLichty]

I am amazed at the colors on the Green Jay Eric - I had no idea there were jays that put on a color show like that.

Last week I wandered up to my local wetlands to see what kinds of activities I could shoot and was appalled to discover that inactivity was the level of activity for the day. I have to presume that lunch at the local cafe was quite excellent given the views I was getting:

Followed of course by taking naps after eating:

While I was waiting for something interesting to happen I was able to detect the ever so subtle approach by a Scrub Jay. I didn't have any trouble figuring out where the bird was and since I had my camera in hand and ready to shoot grabbing a quick shot was pretty easy:

 

[ProCaliberTraveler]

Here's a paradise shelduck!

 

[Kyle Jones]

There might be a wing or two in here somewhere...

 

[Roger Bailey]

Steller's Jay

California Scrub Jay