Cleanup Crew ll

They come at first light, announcing their arrival. Acorns from the large pin oak in our yard carpet the ground below the dogwood tree, and bluejays have been enjoying the harvest.

I watched one bird pick up an acorn and fly up to a sturdy dogwood branch.  Pinning the nut between his feet, he drew himself up to full height, and then, with a swift motion, he brought the full force of his beak down on the acorn.

It took several blows to crack the nut before he was able to extract the bitter meat and gobble it down. His mini-meal finished, he discarded the empty shell, and went to find the next nut.

If things go as they have in past years, the acorns will be gone long before the lawnmower comes out of the garage.  It's good to have a cleanup crew.

Click here for the original Cleanup Crew.

Linking with Saturday's Critters

and Wild Bird Wednesday

Breakfast Blind

I can't imagine a better bird blind than our kitchen window.  From the warmth of our breakfast table on a cold winter morning, our attention is drawn to dark silhouettes against the sky in synchronized flight, darting and pivoting together as if connected by invisible strands.  Cedar Waxwings swoop our way and line up, briefly, on a supplejack vine over our bird feeder.

These sleek birds must have just picked up their jackets at the cleaner's; not a feather is out of place, and in their early morning flight, they dipped each wingtip and tail in the waxy glow of sunrise.

They leave as quickly as they came, and the others replace them, nuthatches and goldfinches, tufted titmice, chickadees, cardinals, and downy woodpeckers.  They come for the sunflower seeds, and on frozen mornings, a mix of peanut butter with oatmeal and seeds and raisins.  How could they resist?

At the piercing cry of a Red-shouldered Hawk the small birds scatter, but moments later, we discover that it is only a Blue Jay doing his best hawk imitation.  He raids the feeder, gulping one sunflower seed after another in swift succession, lifting his head after each swallow.  Don, who's fond of counting things, established that this one broke the old record for sunflower seeds consumed at one sitting, which was 50, with a whopping 76 seeds.  It's a wonder he was able to lift off.

Our breakfast is finished and the day's work is ahead of us, but there's nothing like starting the day with an arial display.

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday
and Saturday's Critters