After four years of living in a pinion-juniper woodland, this is only the second time I've seen pinion jays at my feeder! Both times, they have arrived in a large family group. They are all blue, front and back, with no crest. Sleek looking birds with the same raucous jay call as other jays. There's about a dozen of 'em outside my window as I write this. I'm trying to contain my stupid excitement. What's neat is when something frightens them, there is this sudden burst of blue from the ground up into the nearest juniper tree where they perch like Xmas tree ornaments until descending back down to eat seed spilled from the feeders by other birds. Behind them, a large hump of land protrudes up and, behind it, the threatening sky is the same blue as the jays.

Now there are eight of them within six feet of me! I love that color blue, a dusky, rich hue, only slightly lighter on their breasts. Now I realize why I'm so attracted to these birds. They are almost Dodger blue!!!! Okay, okay, a little darker blue, a slightly grayer blue, but it REMINDS me of Dodger blue, okay...

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