A Mad Jay and a Mad River

Tuesday morning the male Steller's jay was ticked off again, squawking mercilessly at a neighbor's orange tabby cat that insists on coming around in my parents' front yard, clearly too close to the jays' nest...he is very brave, coming very close to the cat...I almost got a shot of the two of them in one photo but the jay moved...(this morning, the jay was in a tree out front, silent, watching for that darn cat...)

The amber-eyed culprit....at the front edge of the house by the side fence...we think the nest is behind him in the neighbor's tree about 30 feet away... 

The jay on top of the fence, right above the cat, within 2-3 feet...

Later, my sis and I took a drive out to Blue Lake, first to the fish hatchery hoping to see a kingfisher or any other interesting bird...what I thought was something 'new' turned out to be a chickadee...I think this bird above is a house finch, nothing new there either...

We then ended up walking a short way out on a levee above Mad River, only seeing goldfinches, none that cooperated for photos...

There are many types of legume wildflowers growing in N Calif. by the coast, including this pretty pink one...

On the other side of the road, we took a path along the river...could hear many types of birds among the large variety of trees and shrubs, but all I got a photo of was this band-tailed pigeon...which is a lifer...

Next, we drove back NW toward the coast to Azalea Reserve, which consists of a short loop trail through a wooded area where many Western azaleas grow wild...I've missed seeing the wild rhododendrons that grow in the redwoods in May...

A periwinkle peeking out from the underbrush...

A lone columbine, not yet fully open.

We did see many hummingbirds, high above at the tops of trees, but I didn't get any decent photos.