Day 248: All around me, new little people are discovering the world. From Merry (currently asleep in my lap after a large THIRD breakfast) to the baby juncoes and short-winged, short-tailed Grosbeaks I have to sidestep when I go outside, they are learning lessons, exploring, testing boundaries, curious about anything and everything they see. This Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is newly fledged. How can I tell? His colouration isn't well-developed for one thing, and his facial markings haven't come in yet, but more to the point, his gape (the fleshy "hinge" of his beak) is still pinkish. The pink or light-coloured gape exhibited by many young birds helps the parents find them in the dark confines of the nest. It turns dark within a few days of fledging.
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