Green Jay

On every trip to the Rio Grande Valley, I am reminded again just how great the junk birds are in Texas. A junk bird is, among birders, a bird so common as not to warrant a second glance. It is generally also a somewhat obnoxious bird…extra noisy, aggressive toward other species, and messy in its habits. House Sparrow and Starling qualify on all counts, plus they are introduced species which compete for habitat with our native species. Most jays make the list, just because…well, just because they are jays. The Green Jay, in south Texas, is such a common bird around yards and feeders, and so jay like in behavior, that it has to be considered a Valley junk bird…but it is so striking…so amazing looking…that people come from all over the country (and the world) to see it…and seek it out whenever they come back. It is a junk bird that comes close to redeeming the whole category…maybe even to nullifying it. 🙂

This specimen was at the appropriately named “Green Jay photo blind” at Bensten State Park World Birding Center in Mission TX. Sony HX400V @ about 985mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 2500 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Windows tablet.