Flumes Volume 2: Issue 1, Summer 2017 | Page 100

taking his afternoon nap. I was also relaxing on the couch when I heard the

squawk of the scrub jay. When I peered out of the window, the bird was perched on a patio chair that was closest to the window making his presence known to Tony. I was overcome with relief upon glimpsing him and have never felt so excited to see an animal. I suspected he may have died when he didn’t come back and the guilt I had been feeling was apparent in that moment, even though I had been looking out for him every day since his

disappearance. Upon hearing the bird, Tony lifted his head, yawned and stretched and resumed his napping position. The bird flew away, apparently done with his exercise of protection. He had also moved his nest, flying not to the tree directly behind us, but instead to the tree to the right of it.

As I stared out of the window waiting to see if he would come back, I noticed another scrub jay perched on the fence. This one was smaller than the one that had scrutinized us through the window. He has found another mate it seemed, and he was making his presence known and asserting his place in the territory he and Tony cohabit. When I got up the next morning, I smiled at witnessing the scrub jay and Tony back at their usual dance—the bird was chasing Tony along the fence and Tony was looking back at him with an expression of mild annoyance.

Works Cited:

Goldman, Jason G. Western Scrub Jays Are Capable of Metacognition. Scientific American. 1 Sept. 2014. Web. 14 June 2014.

Schmitt, John. Naturalist’s Notebook: The Secret Knowledge of Western Scrub-Jays. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 15 July 2008. Web. 27 May 2016.

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