After a year and a half of including a ‘pic of the week’ at the end of my weekly training summary, I’ve decided to let it stand as a post of its own.  I’m also implementing a rule that the Friday Foto needs to have been taken sometime in the last week.  No recycling.  I am doing this to keep me engaged in building my photography skills, and to make me work harder to get fresh shots.  Click here to see my previous Friday Foto posts.

The Gray Jay is a bold little bird when it comes to getting a snack.  Known commonly as Camp Robbers, they are very tolerant of people.

My friend Kirk first pointed them out to me on a run a few years ago.  We didn’t have any suitable food with us at the time, so didn’t get to have them land on our hands.  As you are traveling down a trail in the forest, they will land close to the trail – then fly 30-40 feet ahead and wait until you catch up before flying ahead again.  When you notice a bird doing this over and over again, there is a good chance it is a Camp Robber Jay.  Place a small bit of food in your outstretched palm and see what happens!

There were 3 birds that caught our attention just as we got back to treeline descending Mt. Elbert last Saturday.  The only food we had readily available was some jerky.  That did the trick.

The Jays will cache their bounty close by, but in several different areas to discourage theft by other birds.  Later they will move it to a more secure location that is farther away.

Malcolm and the Bandit
1/125, f/6.3, 55mm @ ISO 100