Comments on: The Blue Jay Report

By: Dick Carlson

Dick Carlson — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:35:55 +0000

Not a single blue jay here in the Central Adirondacks NY. They are usually here all winter. They were here in the Summer/Fall of last year then disappeared in early winter.

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:23:53 +0000

Cherry, I have some suggestions about your blue jays.

Temporarily gone: Perhaps something showed up that’s spooking them such as a hawk or a cat. If you see a hawk perched in your yard all the time or a cat hiding near the feeder, that could explain it.

Left on migration: Though blue jays are present year round, many of them do migrate. I’ve seen them flying along Lake Erie’s shore in the spring waiting to cross to Canada. Your jays might have been visiting for the winter and now they feel spring coming so they’ve moved a little further north. Migration has begun — I’ve noticed new birds in Pittsburgh today.
The good news is that blue jays are very smart and can remember where good food is for a very long time. If your jays were winter visitors they may well return next winter — the exact same birds — because they’ll surely remember your peanut treats. In the meantime there are other jays still south of you who will come north and discover your peanut feeder.

By: cherry

cherry — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:56:34 +0000

hi, I LIVE IN CENTRAL INDIANA
I love jays, they are so beautiful,this year 2013 , my sister saw 4
blue jays in Sept.1212 and said look!! look!! look!!and I missed them.
this winter I had a squirrel that was getting in all my bird food so I
went and bought some peanuts,I would lay out 10 to16 each day and they
would disappear pretty fast, then I notice a couple jays in a tree one
day and told my husband I wish I knew what jays liked.
so I looked it up on the internet and ( I FOUND OUT WHERE THE PEANUTS
WAS GOING)
But I was so pleased!! I started buying a 5 lb bag of peanuts a week.and
they would come to my window sill and get peanuts,they would look in
the window and I would stand real still then they would grab a nut and
take off, then they got to the place they would pick up 1 to 4 to see
which weighed the most. I would say” GOOD MORNING SWEETIE” and they
would look for a min. or so then fly to the tree. I had about 6
bluejays.that fed each day. until March 7th 1213. I saw one in the tree
yesterday but that was it.I got some beautiful pictures.It makes me sad
because I don’t know what I have done wrong, can you help me?
? cherry

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:44:51 +0000

Blue jays do migrate. When I was in Florida for Christmas I saw more blue jays there than I do here in Pittsburgh. I imagine the ones we expect to see are in the South right now.

By: deb meyer

deb meyer — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:13:16 +0000

I live in evans new york and I have not seen any bluejays at all for at least 2 months. Do you know what has happend to them?

By: kc

kc — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:01:07 +0000

The Great Backyard Bird Count this year makes note of a lesser number of Bluejays this year:

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/science-stories/2012Summary

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:52:16 +0000

Hi Kate. Here in Dormont I haven’t heard or seen any Blue Jays all winter except when I put peanuts out. Within minutes of putting them put, the Jays appear. It’s like they are sitting close by watching. Last Tuesday I saw one sitting in a tree (imitating a Red Tail) not far from Consol Energy Center.

By: Maureen Hobma

Maureen Hobma — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:42:40 +0000

I have not seen a blue jay in my neighborhood since last October. I 2 adults and their 3 juveniles at my feeder most of the fall, but haven’t seen one since.

By: Steve-o

Steve-o — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:45:42 +0000

Great work! A good follow up question would be for Canadians, did their Jays leave, or did they stick around?
If northern Jays didn’t travel south, but Pittsburgh’s did, that could explain the gap. And maybe you’re seeing the summer resident Jays returning now? Maybe a banding program would be the ticket.

By: Gail Meister

Gail Meister — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:50:24 +0000

I have had blue jays in North Huntingdon most of the winter at my feeder (4), but the last two weeks when you asked for sightings I have seen none of them. I do have a Sharp shin hawk that visits the feeder just about daily and it has taken many a blue jay over the past couple years as well as the doves. I do have blue jay feathers in the yard as I was cleaning up on Tuesday.