Blue Jay / Cyanocitta cristata

Though we have Blue Jays in the city, I usually hear them rather than see them. Heavily overcast didn''t help with taking photos, but at least I got it.

All four photos posted this morning were taken on 27 December 2018, when I took part with seven others (in two vehicles) in the annual Audubon Sheep River/Turner Valley Christmas Bird Count.

The weather forecast was for sun and cloud, but there was only a very brief sighting of sun on the distant mountain peaks in the whole day. Heavily overcast is an accurate description. Fortunately, it was not bitterly cold (between -11C and -3C) and there was no deep snow to have to walk through.

We only saw 13 species of bird, but we were all delighted to see a Moose (female), with two being seen by one participant. I think I only got photos of two birds in the whole day - plus a fake owl on a barn door, that I like to photograph each year : )

Two days later, I had to be up really early to get to a meeting place by 7:30 am, ready for the annual Audubon Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. This was my last out-of-city Count for this winter. There is a Fish Creek Park annual New Year's Day Count coming up, so hopefully there won't be any new snow before then. It did snow a bit yesterday.