A to Z 2019 April Blogger Challenge - The Letter B - The BlueJay and the Cardinal

It's April - That means I will be participating in the A to Z Blog Challenge.

I will be posting six days a week for the month of April - (with a rest day on Sunday).
Each post will begin with the corresponding letter of the alphabet beginning with A and finishing with the letter Z.

I began participating in this challenge in 2012.   With the exception of last year, I believe I completed the challenge each year.   Last year I lost steam somewhere around the letter W.

Birds

My All Time Favorite Photo

About eight years ago I began to notice birds.  Before then I never paid much attention to them.

I believe my mild fascination began when I received a Canon Rebel camera with an amazing zoom lens for Christmas.  Also, around that time my son was battling cancer.
I think the combination of both of these things heightened an appreciation of my surroundings.

I am not a member of the Audubon Society. I don't go out into the wild with a tripod or binoculars. Other than the most recognizable and common, I don't even know the names of most birds.

My favorite is the Cardinal.  Because of its brilliant red feathers the male is easy to spot.  The feathers on the female are more of a golden color with red wing tips.

When I realized that I could zoom in with my camera on their perch from quite a distance and still get a detailed shot, I was hooked.
I then began to notice their call or chirp or whatever the proper name is for the sound they make.  As I said I don't have much detailed knowledge about birds.
When I go out in the morning to retrieve the newspaper from our driveway,  I will stop to listen.  The cardinal male to female call is distinct enough for me to recognize.  Eventually, as I follow the sound I will spot them.

 I don't believe in such things, but there is a common folk lore that goes like this:

“When a cardinal appears in your yard, it's a visitor from heaven.”

Another easy one to spot is the Bluejay.  According to my recent research, there is no difference in appearance between the male and female bluejay.  While writing this post I found an interesting YouTube video by LesleytheBirdNerd called "How To Tell Male And Female Blue Jays Apart - Is It Even Possible?" 
I see other birds with blue feathers, but I know enough now to recognize that they are not Bluejays.

At certain times of the year I may get to see yellow birds.   Yeah, that's all I know about them, they have yellow feathers.

I find some of the less colorful birds still interesting to photograph.  It may be their pretty songs or they way they perch at the very tops of the trees.

I have a dislike for turkey vultures.  I find them to be creepy.  Lately we seem to have many of them hanging around.  They spend most of their time swooping and gliding.   I guess they are constantly searching for their next meal.

 I feel the same way about crows.  They seem to be aggressive birds who prey on the nests of the smaller birds.

Some of my more unusual finds.

A few of the many many of my favorites 

That's all I have to say about Birds.