Blue jay on a spruce tree.

I have lived in the Lower Mainland (BC, Vancouver area) for over 30 years and have never seen a blue jay there, in spite of the distribution record saying that they are present.  I have, on occasion,  seen them in Alberta and other areas of BC but have never captured an image of one, that is until now.  

While visiting a park in Alberta this winter I came upon one as it flew from tree to tree, no doubt foraging for food.  Blue jays eat a wide variety of food stuffs and in the winter will take seeds and nuts where it can find them.  They have been known to store caches of acorns for later retrieval.  They are also frequent visitors of bird feeders and suet.

I managed to snap off two dozen shots as I followed it moving from perch to perch.  The bird always had its back to me and I could not get any profile or head on shots; this was the best image I managed to get.  When photographing birds I will come away with a lot of photographs, many or all of them being less than what I would call good.  The next time I come across the same species I am given another opportunity to capture that quality image I was hoping for.  For any one species of bird I may have dozens or hundreds of photos.  Then, every once in a while, I manage to capture something truly remarkable.

Unlike studio photography where you can manage every little detail and luck has nothing to do with the outcome, capturing great wildlife images is somewhat dependent on being at the right place and time coupled with having reasonable equipment and good ambient lighting.  The more time and effort you put into the craft the greater the chances of being rewarded with an image you can be thrilled about.  My hat is off to those wildlife photographers that can make a living at the trade.  For me, its just about enjoying the outdoors and photographing the things I love.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com