My Scrub Jay Family Returns!

My blueblue California Scrub Jay family has returned to build a nest in the tree house. While so much is WRONG in this world right now, the fact that these birds reappeared is heartwarming.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

While they don’t use the same nesting material year after year, jays often return to the same location, referred to as site loyalty. They are very attached to their home ranges, and pairs often stay together for multiple years, leading them to build new nests in familiar spots within that territory.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

How lucky am I that these guys feel safe here at Casa de Enchanted Seashells!

Welcome home!

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

I can’t resist a connection to Leon Russell. Although it’s not at all about blue birds, his song, Bluebird, is musical perfection. Sadly, I don’t think there’s a video of a live performance. https://youtu.be/Zhaq-wWykZU?si=6fegLI90ZUqI-N5q

Leon Russell 🎩 Bluebird

The world lost Leon Russell eight years ago on November 13, 2016. He was and will always be the absolutely gorgeous Master of Space and Time. He is so very missed. I hope that our collective and continued love for Leon offers his family some small comfort as they remember his life. We will never forget him or his musical genius that still brings so much joy.

According to his mother, Leon Russell’s first words happened as a result of observing some birds…“What’s the matter little birdie, you cry?” She was shocked because Leon had never before spoken. For some reason, that sweet story touches my heart. Maybe it was a bluebird.

Credit to the photographer

This Mary Oliver poem about a bluebird seems to convey what I can’t figure out how to say.

What Gorgeous Thing

I do not know what gorgeous thing
the bluebird keeps saying,
his voice easing out of his throat,
beak, body into the pink air
of the early morning. I like it
whatever it is. Sometimes
it seems the only thing in the world
that is without dark thoughts.
Sometimes it seems the only thing
in the world that is without
questions that can’t and probably
never will be answered, the
only thing that is entirely content
with the pink, then clear white
morning and, gratefully, says so. — Mary Oliver

Bluebird by Leon Russell

*Featured photo credit to Enchanted Seashells of scrub jay