Subject: Re: Jays and Nutcrackers
Date: Sep 27 08:19:28 1995
From: Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net - Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net


>Re: Steller's Jays - I wonder if most "high" elev. Steller's Jays are
there
>only because of man's offal, such as at roadside picnic and campsites or
ski
>resorts during the breeding season. After breeding, they are confirmed
upslope
>wanderers and don't seem tied to garbage.

The most Steller's Jays I've seen this summer have been right in town here
in Wenatchee. If the town weren't here, it would be extremely doubtful that
the jays would be. Interesting, but there don't seem to be as many jays in
the mountains this summer.

>
>Nutcrackers are well-known denizens of ponderosa pines along the east
slopes of
>the Cascades, particularly near cliffs. I don't know if a documented
>association with cliffs is know...just a personal observation. Exceptions
of
>course. I suspect they cache seeds in clefts in cliffs in a big way (we
may
>document this this weekend on Tiffany, a stronghold for nutcrackers).
>Andy Stepniewski
>Wapato WA

On Tiffany several isolated pines near the summit are growing from rather
strange places-almost from under rocks. The seeds could only have been put
there by nutcrackers.

The association of nutcrackers near cliffs at lower elevations may be tied
to the microclimate for pines. Growing up in California where nutcrackers
were confined to higher elevations, it came as quite a surprise to me to
find nutcrackers numerous in spots along the lower edges of the Cascade
east slopes.

However, thinking about it. Nutcrackers at higher elevations are also found
not far from talus and other rocky areas. But in the Cascades is one ever
far from talus and rocks? Probably the most notable place in the world for
nutcrackers is the rocky rim of Crater Lake.

--Jerry Tangren