Steller's Jays at Cowichan Bay

10 x 8 watercolour on Arches 140# cold-pressed paper

When I lived on the west coast and worked at Pacific Rim National Park, Steller’s Jays were very common, cheeky birds, apt to steal an unsupervised lunch. Now, living in the Cowichan Valley, I remarked to my son recently that I seldom see them here. Well it was shortly after noting their absence that I started to hear Steller’s Jays in the trees behind my house; then, large numbers of them showed up in my yard, while I was painting this picture! What a strange and convenient coincidence.