Blue Jay
On my walk to visit the night-herons, a blue jay.
I see in those jewel-rimmed eyes and hear in its scream, "Here I am. How are you?"
I join many birders in wonder about the meaning of the blue jay’s screams. What is the jay all worked up about? A hawk, owl, or another being? One hypothesis (from scientist and author, Bernd Heinrich) is that jays call “to keep in touch.”
He continues, “The scream of the blue jay…has a basic message that simply says, “’Here I am. How are you?’ Hearers can then feel reassured that they are not alone…and can either ignore it or reply, ‘Here I am, too’…or depending on inflection, length, repetition, pitch, and context… ‘All okay’ or, ‘I’m excited,’ or ‘this is scary, come check it out,’ or in spring, ‘look at me: I’m available,’ or soft whispers in the presence of a mate may mean, ‘I like you. I want to stay with you.’’’
Another wonder, let's call it a wonderment, is the connection these bird-sightings foster with others. I saw this jay and thought of Wild Palm neighbor Sandy. You know, the call as "how are you?"
And this week, especially, I think of Springlakes neighbor Faith who writes, "Each of your posts really makes my day. Do you know this poem by Wendell Berry?" and included the verse. I didn't! In the spirit of the blue jay's call, I'm sharing Faith's poem gift with you.
