A Blue Jay plummets
into the sudden scene,
and all the smaller birds
scatter from the feeder.
Body-hop, head-bob, glare;
his vibrant feathers flare.
A blue-white flame
on a gray winter day.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Home Feeders & Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
At the bird feeder:
A Black-capped Chickadee
gives way to
a Tufted Titmouse.
The Tufted Titmouse
gives way to
a White-breasted Nuthatch.
The White-breasted Nuthatch
gives way to
a Red-bellied Woodpecker.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker
gives way to
a Blue Jay.
All winter long, the feeder
gives away a focal point
of captivating interest for Birders.
Accept the gift.
Feed the birds.
Watch the feeders.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Cascade Township - Kent County - Michigan
2. > 8. Home Feeders - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Blue Jays, quiet and secretive
most of the summer,
have begun to shriek and jeer
from high hidden perches.
Black-capped Chickadees
gather in groups again
to chatter and jabber:
"fee-bee," and "fee-bee-bee".
Eastern Chipmunks jump
and scatter quickly
off the wooded trail
you are hiking.
Sandhill Cranes have raised
their young and take them up
for practice flights, preparing
for late fall migration.
And out West, in the elevations,
the Rocky Mountains are already aflame
with Aspens climbing and
spreading gold up the slopes.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Chief Hazy Cloud Park - Kent County - Michigan
3. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan
4. McCarthy Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
5. Grand Mesa National Forest - Colorado
