A juvenile Blue Jay has been loudly making his presence known in the backyard!

The other day, he followed Mama to the feeders and perched on a nearby branch.  He kept a close eye on her…

…while she gathered up a heapin’ helpin’ of peanuts.

You can tell he’s a youngster, not only by his mannerisms and the remaining fluffy feathers, but also because of the bit of pink at the edge of his beak, which you can see has turned dark on the adult.

Once her beak was sufficiently loaded, Mom flew off to a neighbor’s pine tree with her little one close behind.  Now that he knows where the peanut stash is, I don’t think it will be long before this fellow is coming on his own.