No deer, but gray jays!

[Steve Foss]

Was out to fill deer tag No. 2 today. Filled tag No. 1 with nice doe on Monday. No deer moving where I was today, but up in the boreal forest, the gray jays are always bold and on the move looking for a meal.

Here's one that kept me company for awhile.

[Tom Wilson]

Nice Steve. I've never seen a Gray Jay. I'd love to see them by my home. Are these shots full frame?

[Steve Foss]

Thanks Tom. Almost full frame. Very little cropping. Gray jays will come quite close. Like big ole' lovable curious chickadees. And they usually run in pairs or in small gangs.

[WifeKidsandDog]

They are very cute. I particularly like the feather detail in the first shot.

Cheryl

[icehousebob]

Steve, I've seen bunches of them while hunting deer in the Wyoming Black Hills. The local name for them is camp robbers. I hung and field dressed a deer once and stood back to open a beer. Before I took my first sip, there were two of them on the gut pile, picking on bits of fat. I was five feet away. They have no fear of humans. Great pictures.

[Steve Foss]

Tom: Don't know if you're a life lister for birds, but next time you're up in this part of the area, just drive out into the woods on a gravel road, get out of your vehicle and toss some bread or other food nearby, and you'll likely have gray jays coming in.

Gray jays and ravens are the two bird species I think of when I say the words: boreal forest. They are the two species you can depend on, day in and day out, to keep things lively when you're out in the woods in this part of the country.

We're also thick with grosbeaks up here. We have rose-breasteds in the summer, our feeder is alive with 20 evening grosbeaks right now, and we'll have pine grosbeaks pretty soon, and they'll last all winter.

But it's the gray jays in particular, with their gliding short flights, cheerful inquiring calls and good-natured curiosity that tell me I'm home.

I see the above images are a little too dark and a little too blue, which was not how they looked when I toned them. But, oh well . . .

Here are two of pine grosbeaks from last winter.