Learning to Fly

The babies look more like fat toddlers.
The babies look more like fat toddlers.

Does anybody know anything about baby Blue Jays?

They seem healthy, but I worry about a cat or racoon getting at them.
They seem healthy, but I worry about a cat or racoon getting at them.

Two days ago, on Sunday, I noticed a fat baby Blue Jay in my backyard in Malden, Mass. It was unable to fly and was hopping around. Yesterday, I saw the mother swoop down and feed the bird. This morning, my wife shouted as she was leaving the house that there were two baby Blue Jays now hopping around the yard.

When I went to investigate, I discovered three. One of them seems to be learning how to fly better than the others, as he makes his way up my back fence and hides in the ivy hanging there.

The mother and (maybe it’s) the father (?) keep watch over the young with one of them swooping down occasionally to stick what looks like a worm in their beaks.

Is this normal Blue Jay behavior?

Geesh! It's not like we live in the country. What gives??
Geesh! It's not like we live in the country. What gives??

(All photos by Mark Micheli)