Blue jays give and blue jays take away.

During a walk in the woods the other day, I heard a bunch of blue jays squawking up a storm. It was too loud and frantic to be simple alarm calls for a potential threat. This threat had to be real. The calls and squawks reached a fever pitch as more and more blue jays appeared onto the scene from all directions.

I knew it had to be a hawk or owl that had the jays all riled up. I just had to find it.

After a minute or two of peering into the thick hemlock branches, I noticed a large bird being harassed. The blue jays may have been smaller, but it was at least 15 to 1 in their favor. From my angle, the larger bird was still well hidden. I took a few steps to change my perspective, and my suspicions were confirmed that it was a barred owl.

From my current position, I was facing the dim light coming through the clouds, branches still hid most of the owl, and the large bird had its back to me. It was as bad as it gets for photographic conditions. I continued down the trail, as the plan was to walk beyond the fracas, head well into the woods and come back to the action. I didn’t want to get too close and disrupt whatever nature had in mind for this standoff. 

I barely took two steps into the woods when the blue jays won the battle and chased the owl off its perch. The owl landed briefly on a nearby exposed branch, but the blue jays did not relent in their harassment and quickly sent the owl deeper into the woods. I tracked the owl through the trees for as long as I could, but it continued out of sight.

No luck this time. Getting my first owl photo in many years would have to wait.

The blue jays led me to the sighting in the first place. I have little doubt that I would have walked right past the well-concealed owl if they hadn’t alerted me to its presence. But, the blue jays were also quick to dispatch of the owl, denying me the opportunity to get a good look. Still, it was fun to witness the drama even from a poor perspective.

Crows, a member of the corvid family along with blue jays, are also known for employing the same tactic of ganging up on and harassing hawks and owls. When you hear blue jays or crows being extra exuberant in their calls, they may just lead you to a hawk or owl sighting. 

I continued back to the car lamenting the missed opportunity but still enjoying being outside. About twenty minutes later, I was rewarded with a sighting of one of my favorite birds eating berries on the side of a different trail. At first, I saw three cedar waxwings in a bush on the left side of the trail. Then, I saw a few more a bit farther down the trail on the left. Soon, I discovered I was surrounded on both sides by dozens of waxwings eating purple border privet berries. 

The conditions were not perfect for photographing as the gray lighting was very flat, but I enjoyed the moment anyway and did the best I could with my camera. 

Blue jays led me to the owl sighting. Dumb luck and fortunate timing led me to the cedar waxwings. It served as a good reminder, however, that magic happens all the time in nature. You just have to be out there looking to see it.