eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

NEW YEAR'S EVE morning, I drove up to Palomar Mountain. Before you think, who cares -- this is the 5500' mountain upon which sits the famous Palomar Observatory.

THE GLEAMING WHITE DOME is home to five telescopes used nightly for a wide variety of astronomical research programs. Owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology, the observatory houses the world-renowned 200-inch Hale telescope. Research is conducted by faculty and students as well as researchers from CalTech's collaborating institutions.

INTERESTING, but what has this got to do with backyard wild bird feeding? Not much, I suppose. The tie-in is that the surrounding forested mountainside is home to a multitude of birds and other wildlife.

I WAS FORTUNATE to get several photos of a Steller's Jay. The vantage point is from the ground looking up into a tree, so the images are not as good as I would have liked. Closely related to the Blue Jay which Alan wrote about recently, Steller's Jay inhabits wooded areas. Sporting a blackish head, breast and back, Steller's wings, tail and belly are bright blue. A distinctive feature is the black head crest.

THIS STELLER'S JAY was not very personable, landing briefly in a tree and then he was on his way. It was his harsh, unmusical call that first caught my attention. The flash of blue among the tree limbs along with the black head crest identified the bird as a Steller's.

THE DRIVE up and down the mountain provided expansive vistas of neighboring mountain ranges and made for some great photography.

California Kathryn
Fallbrook, CA
http://www.wildernessimpressions.com