Cardinal and Blue Jay

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Tuesday - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Yesterday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Today - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Cardinal
Most everyone knows what a cardinal looks like; being named after the red robes of the Roman Catholic Cardinals. Their song you probably also recognize as either purty-purty-purty or sweet-sweet-sweet.



I have these beautiful red birds on the lower ridges of the farm, but for whatever reason they don’t come to the higher elevations. As a very territorial bird, perhaps there are birds up here that they don’t get along with. Is there anything more stunning than bright red cardinals dancing across the white snow in search of food?

Blue Jay
As one of the larger and loudest of the songbirds, the Blue Jay is also among the most gregarious. I guess it is no surprise that the Blue Jay is related to the Crow and Magpie. They appear in the hundreds at my upper level feeders, staged in the distant trees, the near trees, and surrounding grass. They must come from miles afar to be in such numbers throughout most of the winter months.



Their main song is jay-jay-jay, but they are also known to queedle-queedle-queedle, as well as mimic other birds such as hawks. The Blue Jay buries seeds, acorns and nuts for future use and as such has earned the title of nature’s tree planter, credited for reestablishing oak trees after the last glacial period. They are a striking blue contrast to the green grass when waiting their turn at the feeders.

Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Tuesday - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Today - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Thursday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Friday - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Carolina Chickadee
Dressed in what appears to be formal attire, these small, curious birds are among the most inquisitive. They are in constant movement as small flocks, seemingly in well-oiled coordination. They winter in this area and appear to be fearless in snow storms. They are named after their song chick-a-dee-dee-dee. A common visitor to most bird feeders, they move in concert with the Tufted Titmouse and Junco.



I admire their courage and enterprise. There is a lot of energy in this small package.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
This distinctly colored bird is related to the Cardinal. It appears around here at my bird feeders in the early spring for a few weeks before moving on to somewhere else. While more of a temporary visitor, I wish he would stay around a little longer.

Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Today - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Thursday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Friday - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Indigo Bunting
It has been reported that the Indigo Bunting is the Magellen of the bird world as it navigates by the stars at night. From my observation this is amongst the shyest of birds, as I only get brief glimpses of it as I travel the farm and surprise them around a corner. Someday, I would love to take his picture as proof of my stealthy approach. The Indigo Bunting is a member of the Cardinal family, yet leaves every winter early, returning to the same three areas on my farm each year.



This diminutive bird appears to be a deep purplish to deep blue color because of light diffusion, but has no blue pigments in its feathers and is actually black. I have planted large areas of wildflowers where they nest, which they seem to really like.

Scarlet Tanager
This strikingly colored bird is equally as shy as the Bunting. Staying deeper in the forest, this black-winged red bird winters in South America. He makes a chip-bang song.



I saw my first Scarlet Tanager late last summer, alighting within 15 feet of me on a dawn Redwood I planted several years ago. I will never forget how amazed I was at his remarkable coloring. I don’t think he saw me as he stayed there for several minutes. I barely breathed for the entire time. Perhaps he did see me and was not threatened.