Subject: [Tweeters] Stellers Jays get themselves into a bit of trouble
Date: Oct 21 15:31:37 2008
From: Rob Sandelin - floriferous at msn.com


On this fine sunny fall afternoon I was in pursuit of fungi but how could I
miss the racket of 3 jays, all yelling about something. They appeared to be
having a fine time, yelling and diving at a bird I could not quite see but
from the shape I guessed a red-tail. I was wrong it was the biggest Coopers
Hawk I have seen, although it might have had its feathers puffed up to make
itself bigger. Suddenly out of nowhere a Jay gave a different sound, sort of
a scream, and there was a fast moving motion as a second hawk, an accipter
and probably a Coop, came zooming out of nowhere on the attack. The
previously perched Coop then joined the fun, and both birds seemed to single
out a particular Jay, who was last seen zigzagging for all his life into the
trees. The other jays went totally silent, one of the birds flew up into a
Salmonberry thicket not far from where I stood and hopped into a covered
place, ducking its head and looking all around like some guilty school boy
caught stealing apples.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer
Snohomish County
http://share3.esd105.wednet.edu/rsandelin/NWnature/NWNature.htm