Big-toothed aspenThe day began with talk of an eclipse in the pre-dawn hours that most of us missed. When the sun broke through the clouds this afternoon, it was blue sky and brilliant color. The photo is of big-toothed aspen leaves (Populus grandidentata).
The flock of over a hundred crows (Corvus brachyrhychos) was noisy as they continued to gather for migration, but the blue jays were being quiet. Then one gave a jay call (said its name out loud) and two darted into the dense cover of a balsam fir tree. A second later, the smaller of the two sharp-shinned hawks (the male) flashed by. Two other jays repeated the call as other jays were hopping up branches or flying to the tops of trees. Hawks seem to be at a disadvantage when their bird prey is perched above them. 
Crows flying over Woods LakeI walked by the two in the dense balsam—maybe 15 feet away--and was surprised they didn’t move, even when I stopped and snapped a picture. They were busy watching for real danger and didn’t want to leave their protected spot. When the hawk flew to the top of a tree maybe 75 feet away, the jays knew his position and went about foraging near dense cover. Some flew across the little lake, knowing the hawk was too far away to catch up to them. Blue jays are smart, as is typical of the family Corvidae. We’ve never seen the hawks get a blue jay in years of watching hundreds of chases.
Jay in balsam treeNo one reported seeing a bear at a community feeding station last night, and no food disappeared here overnight.
Regarding bears, it was a busy media day with calls from reporters about the killing in New Jersey some weeks ago. The necropsy report was released today. It now seems clear it was a rare predatory killing. These attacks are unexplainable. No one did anything wrong. The bear seemed in good health and was a good weight (~300 pounds) for a 4–year-old male this time of year. Thank goodness, only about 1 black bear in a million does that. http://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2014/10/bear_expert_apparently_fatal_attack_in_west_milford_was_one_in_a_million_might_never_be_fully_explai.html
Lynn Rogers and Scott EdgettAt the Bear Center, Director Scott Edgett hosted his weekly “Live at the NABC” broadcast and had me as his guest. Lily Fans had sent in questions for me to answer. Fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B2QXpXlUdw&feature=share
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.