With their bright blue feathers and their loud, piercing call, blue jays are among our most easily identifiable birds. If you keep bird feeders in your yard, you may have noticed that blue jays are kind of like the bully on the playground. They can be loud and aggressive, threatening smaller birds. Its for this reason that blue jays are not a favorite among many avid birders.
Blue jays live everywhere in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and in parts of southern Canada, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Their migration patterns are not yet well understood by researchers. They are migratory, but not all birds migrate. They are present in most of their range throughout the year, although some blue jays do migrate south for winter.
Blue jays eat insects, nuts, seeds and grains. If youd like to attract them to your yard, try putting out peanuts, suet or sunflower seed, Cornell Lab advises. They prefer tray and hopper-style bird feeders to hanging feeders.
On Monhegan round 9:30 a. m. On Friday, May 19, Betsy and I noticed a flock of thirty to forty jays flying northwest over the boreal forest to the north of the hamlet. Individual jays were seen moving for the next few minutes or so, mostly in the same direction as the group. .
It is hardly surprising that some of the most enigmatic bird species exist among our most recognizable and common avian companions. For instance, a lot of people are shocked to hear that Blue Jays travel. Thats because most Blue Jays dont migrate.
“On Saturday at Schoodic, flocks of 40, 17, 13, 8, and stragglers by one or twos were observed.” All during morning from 6:15 to 9:30. .
Adding to the mystery is this: According to the Blue Jay account in Cornells Birds of the World, its still unknown whether or not most migrant Blue Jays are young birds. Banding station captures during migration in some years seem to have lots of young jaysbut not in every year.
The only two records outside the U. S. are claimed to be from Bermuda, however the species account “Birds of the World” notes that neither of these records was supported by images or specimens, which would seem to imply that those records may be dubious.
Meet a Naturalist: Michelle Cipiti, fulfilling a dream
Meet Michelle Cipiti, the Hidden Oaks Nature Center’s interpretive naturalist.
They don’t get much love
Blue jays don’t receive nearly as much respect as some of our other well-known birds, many of which are designated as state birds. Perhaps this is because of their reputation as bullies. Take the northern cardinal. Its the state bird of seven states, including Illinois. Additionally, three states have robins as their official bird, while five states have northern mockingbirds. Conversely, the state bird of exactly zero states is the blue jay.
Thats not to say blue jays get no respect. The Major League Baseball team in Toronto is named for the well-known blue-hued birds. Toronto was awarded an expansion MLB team in 1976, and the team has been called the Blue Jays since its inception. To name the team, the organization held a public contest that garnered more than 30,000 submissions of more than 4,000 name suggestions, according to Major League Baseball. One of the most common names submitted through the contest was the Blues, but because that was similar to the name for the mascot of the University of Toronto, a panel of judges selected the name the Blue Jays instead.
Additionally, our northern neighbors have expressed their admiration for the blue jay. The blue jay is the official bird of Prince Edward Island, a province in Canada. A few American universities, such as Creighton University, Elizabethtown College, and Johns Hopkins University, have made the blue jay their mascot.
FAQ
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