Rhododendron Gardens With Grandma Mary

 

Today Raine and I returned to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens with Grandma Mary. It was a gorgeous day. We took our time and watched the animals, admired the blooms, stopped for a picnic. We enjoyed every moment. More photos here!

Newly Spotted: Mésange à Tête Noire

Poecile atricapilla - Black-capped Chickadee

"The Black-Capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items for later recovery. Each item is placed in a different spot and a bird can remember thousands of hiding places" (Cornell).

Above photo from Birds Likely to be Observed in Oregon.

Boris

Cyanocitta stelleri -- Steller's Jay is kind of a bully with the other birds. Most get out of his way. He likes the feeding tray, the birdbath and the suet tray. The other birds come back after he leaves. Calls are low pitched, raucous, and varied, often in a series of 3. Stellers imitates hawks expertly. (Photo and text from Birds Likely to be Observed in Oregon).

Our resident Steller's Jay is Boris, a rude dude with a 'tude. Ever reckless and stubborn, Boris developed a habit of flying straight into our finch bird feeder, head-butting it with the full force of his flight in order to knock out seed he can munch on. It is not uncommon for Boris to do this while Dan or I are sitting out on the balcony, which always nearly gives me a heart attack. I hope to catch a photo of Boris soon...