Gray Jay

 This little fella, along with his better half are sure to be perched everyday on our deck rail at mealtimes!!  They are very patient too because they know a great meal is on the way!! One morning they got lucky with some homemade blueberry pancakes!! (yes, with syrup....haha)

Patiently waiting for a bedtime snack!!

Patience paid off!! Going to bed with a full belly!!

Gray Jays are highly curious and always on the lookout for food....They nest during late winter, incubating the eggs in temperatures that may drop below minus 30°C.  I also learned that gray jays do not attempt a second brood in the May–June breeding period, even though the warmer conditions would appear to be more favorable for them.  They weigh 2.5-ounces and have to consume about 50 calories per day!!  (They certainly get that here!!)  Their fluffy plumage puffs up in winter and even their nostrils are covered in feathers!!

Here is a very interesting fact:

The oldest Gray Jay on record was at least 17 years old. Banded in 1985, it was recaptured and re-released by a bird bander in Colorado in 2002. (WOW!!)