This story was originally originally written as one of a series of nature books I wrote for my grandson when he was in kindergarten. (He’s just finishing 8th grade now.) So the story was for a younger child. Last year, bfitz used it as a filler diary in PWB when a regular diarist couldn’t do one. That’s when I added the picture captions, with more information aimed at adults.
Not “once upon a time” but every spring —
This is a family story about how five blue jay babies grew.
Days 1-17
I could see a nest from my deck. A mother blue jay was sitting on eggs. The weather was very warm so she sometimes felt she could leave her nest to find food, but she was never gone for very long.
Days 18-25
The eggs hatched. There were five babies. At first, they could barely hold their heads up, but they grew stronger every day. Their eyes opened. The first wing and tail and back feathers came in. We say that the feathers were “in pin” because they had a covering over them.
The parents fed the babies all day long. Baby birds grow fast, so they have to eat and eat. The adults went to my feeders and filled their crops with seed. The crop begins to mash the seed, so it can be in small pieces for the babies.
The baby jays opened their mouths for the food. The parents put the mashed seed and peanuts deep into their mouths.
We had some heavy rain at night. I worried about keeping the babies warm and dry. But the next morning, everything seemed all right. Sometimes, if the wind is very, very strong, eggs or babies can blow out of the nest. I’m glad that didn’t happen to these babies. There were still five babies every morning.
I wanted to make sure that the babies had the best food so I kept the tray filled with peanuts.
Days 26-30
The blue jay babies grew and grew. The covering over their primary feathers slid off. They had feathers on their wings and backs and tails. They showed the blue jay markings and colors, too.
Still the parents brought food all day long. They were very hungry babies because they were growing so very fast.
Day 31
I almost never saw both parents at the nest at the same time. But both the father and the mother were taking care of the babies all day.
The babies asked for food all day. But at night the babies would get sleepy as soon as it started to get dark. They would go to sleep in the nest. The mother slept on them to keep them warm.
Day 32
The two strongest baby jays stood bravely at the edge of the nest and flapped their wings. They still didn’t have enough feathers to fly, and they were not old enough or strong enough yet, either. But the day when they could fly was coming fast. They were practicing and making their wings strong.
Day 33
The babies have a lot of feathers. They have blue jay wings, and the blue jay black necklace is starting to show around their necks. They overflow the nest.
Day 34
I have an empty nest! The babies left the nest in the morning. They went into the trees. They still can’t fly very well.
Blue jay parents take their young to hide in the trees. They will take care of them there and teach them how to be blue jays. It will be several weeks before they even bring the babies to the feeders to learn how to feed themselves. Blue jays are good parents.