Jay Walking at Wood Lake

I caught a Blue Jay at Wood Lake.  He is not a "friend" of most birds.  But look at his amazing plumage.   A beautiful bully.

He looks like a bearded grandpa here.

"The objective is to teach the student to see the land, to understand what he sees and enjoy what he understands"

Aldo Leopold

Thanks wise old Blue Jay for pointing out this quote to me.  I hadn't noticed it before.

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

Their goose is not cooked...

I'm finally re-visiting Duluth and Hawk Ridge.  These birds are captured, but they don't end up on the Thanksgiving table.  They are banded and released.  Their goose is not cooked!

A volunteer showcases a blue jay's feathers.  This is an exciting (I'm joking.  Most people don't like Jays) part of the Hawk Weekend Festival September 14-16.  www.hawkridge.org   It celebrates the Fall migration of birds with bird adoptions, among other events. In short, Hawk ridge is such a great spot for banding because the birds don't want to fly over Lake Superior as they migrate.  I don't blame them one bit. And for a small fee you can hold and release a captured bird.  Jays are free.  Just kidding.

 A young Flicker.  We see these woodpeckers on the ground in the Fall.

An alert Kestrel.  

Wasn't it fun to see their feathers from all sides? A brief demo and off they go.  Where migration will take them no one knows. 

If you haven't checked out my giveaway either scroll down or click here  I'm giving away 2 signed copies (including musical cd's) of my first illustrated book.  It would make a great Christmas gift!