This is an “& Friends” moment. Though technically, cats and birds are not friends. But I’m fortunate to have a lot of wildlife around my home, and I enjoy watching them in their natural habitat and taking photos. My hope is to create a wildlife card set for those who prefer more outdoorsy photos or God forbid, don’t like cats. Seriously, I know that not everyone likes cats, and I’m even friends with a few of these folks, but I must admit it’s not a phenomenon I can readily understand. Okay, so I digress. You’ll find I do that often here.

A baby blue jay in my driveway watches me while trying to remain very still.

This little fellow appeared in my driveway one late spring (June) day, apparently out for his flying lesson. I worry about baby birds learning to fly in my driveway because of my outdoor cats. But if you know anything about blue jays, you’ll know that the parents are very protective of their offspring. The mother and daddy stay close while the babies are checking out their new world. I once had a parent blue jay dive bomb at me because I had the audacity to take pictures of her babies on the ground.

The blue jay sits on a brush pile while Little Mama eats nearby.

On that occasion, my cats were around and were mainly just hanging out, and the blue jays were after them too. Let me tell you, the birds had both my cats’ and my attention, although this picture seems to suggest the cat wasn’t bothered at all. So I’ve learned to be wary and duck my head if necessary. During this recent visit, the blue jays remained close, but they didn’t seem to have as much objection about my presence or my taking photos of their baby. I only saw one.

Later, I came back out to check on the baby bird and found him still as a statue. The parents were nowhere to be seen, and as I looked for them, the baby kept his eye on me but continued to remain motionless. I don’t know where the parents were, maybe off finding something to eat. I could just hear what they had told their baby, ‘Now stay here and don’t move until we get back. If you sense danger, stand perfectly still.’ I’ve been watching and studying wildlife behavior for a long time, but it still always amazes me how the animals instinctively understand about danger and how to protect themselves. It’s what keeps animal populations alive each generation, and it remains fascinating.

He blends!

The little fellow eventually returned to an area with more plants and places to hide. I never did get to see him try to fly, but I’m sure evolution showed him the way.

Initially published on June 26, 2015