Re Steller's Jay Migration:

The experience of Vancouver & Victoria BC supports Dennis' description of
a regular STJA migration along the W Coast (through our southwest, but
Dennis' Northwest ;-) ). Two yrs ago, there was a *massive* migration of
these birds through the area, particularly in Victoria, perhaps because the
southward narrowing of Vancouver constrained them into a narrower corridor.
Since then, I've noticed this fall small numbers (4-5 at a time) moving
through. In talking to Bryan Gates, the Victoria BC RBA operator, it's
clear Victoria regularly gets more of them than Vancouver in fall. The jays
arrive as the acorns and pecans ripen (falling upon the latter like wolves,
etc). What convinced me that this was a migration rather than just an
aimless local mob was the presence of a number of 'interior' race birds
showing the extensive--for them--white on face and brow characteristic of
C.s.annectens. Since birds of this race are a relatively common bird in the
N-Central part of BC where winters are usually quite severe, it makes sense
they head S just like Blue Jays back E do.

The timing is interesting: their migration seems to coincide with the
arrival of other species which breed in the central-northern parts of the
province such as Northern Flicker (the arrival of the first
'Yellow-shafted' and 'YS X 'RS' Flickers is a tip-off they're not local),
Lincoln's Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, non-resident Downy Woodpeckers,
non-resident Song Sparrow, the Kinglets, and so on. I noticed this year
that the day after the Jet Stream looped around so that Vancouver was on
northern ('Arctic') side, there were large increases in the numbers of
these species, literally overnight. Boy, that Jet Stream. So much influence
on our birds' migrations, yet I've seen so lttle work on it in that
respect. Is there any published stuff a barely-scientifically literate
layperson like myself can read?


Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca