Near the slim, mud-lined edges of Silver Lake,

this mountain morning belongs to birds:

chickadees, bluebirds, house finches, flickers,

house sparrows, kinglets, nuthatches,

spotted sandpipers, starlings, robins,

woodpeckers, warblers.

How easily all visiting birds

find breakfast near the lake.

Early autumn means all weeds have gone to seed!

Mosquitoes move more slowly in the colder air.

Purple elderberries and service berries,

reddish gooseberries tempt

birds to explore every corner and cranny

of the Wasatch Forest.

Black-hooded Steller’s jays,

never soft-spoken nor subtle,

perch on high pine limbs,

like indigo protectors

who spurn the common scrub oak.

Dark, alert eyes under grandfather-white brows

seem both regal and roguish.

With a show of community support,

jays warn smaller birds

about red-tailed hawks nearby

by cleverly mimicking hawk calls.

When the jays have eaten their fill,

they fly downwind, just to explore campgrounds,

rout among refuse, hop on wood tables,

or scold campers who have slept in late.

Burrowing owls try to scold jays back,

aim to keep mice in their own range.

The birds will be ready for brunch soon!