Taking Flight

Not long ago, I discovered that there is a birds' nest outside my window. To my untrained eye, they appear to be bluejays (of the non-Toronto variety). The nest is nearly invisible - nestled behind some palm fronds. I only noticed it when I saw the parents swooping in and caught fleeting glimpses of little begging mouths darting about. I think part of the nest is made up of those plastic rings that hold six-packs together. And here I was, cutting them up so they wouldn't choke the fishies! ;) Here are the parents. The nest is behind the bunch of leaves to the left of the lower bird. Like I said, invisible.


Action shot!


One of the parents even stopped on my windowsill, as if to say, "Is that a new 2G MacBook?"


I think I got lucky today. I don't know how much longer the babies will be in the nest. After breakfast, the nestlings started hopping about on nearby branches and trying out their wings. I caught Mr. Adventurous here just before he flew off. What a look of determination!


A sibling's flight attempt was somewhat less graceful as he got caught in the palm. The parent was utterly unconcerned. Eventually the little took on a more graceful posture.


Finally, the money shot. Check out that beautiful plumage!