James, Peter, and Tweeters,
Western Scrub-Jays arrived in Olympia recently. I believe 1981 was the
first record (Bill Tweit), but by the mid-80s they were turning up in
several spots on a regular basis. At present, several discrete areas support
nesting birds. These include the areas where James and Peter made their
observations.
The scrub-jay expansion in Washington ought to be documented. I feebly
attempted to begin that process, but got caught up in other things. Anyone
interested in taking up the topic is welcome to my files.
Meanwhile, I encourage Olympians in particular to note specific
locations, number of jays, and behaviors, as well as oft-visited areas where
jays do not occur. This distributional shift is happening right under the
noses of western Washington birders.
--
Scott Richardson
NE Seattle
salix at halcyon.com