Is it my imagination or have I also seen more than the usual number of
eastern Blue Jay postings on tweeters this fall?

--Jerry, <tangren at wsu.edu>


>>Well, it's intellectually satisfying to attempt to explain why Western
>>Scrub-Jays are being seen all over the place lately, but it's much more fun
>>to see one yourself! I finally did that, saw it flying on a northbound
>>heading past UPS as I pulled into the parking lot at 8:15 yesterday morning
>>(8 Oct). My first sighting in Pierce Co. I stood in the parking lot for a
>>few minutes to see if I would see it again or hear it, but instead I saw no
>>fewer than 7 Steller's Jays fly by, going in several directions. There is
>>always a lot of Steller's Jay movement in the fall, but this fall I seem to
>>see them everywhere I go, flying from treetop to treetop. For days now,
>>they've been coming right over my window, a few each day, the great
>>majority moving south but occasionally one in a different direction. I
>>would guess that *thousands* of STJAs are on the move (dispersing) at this
>>time of year, a much more substantial movement than any published
>>literature indicates.
>>
>
>I was talking to Kimball Garrett about the fact that we are getting a
>Red-breasted Nuthatch invasion here in California and that traditional
>wisdom in the east is when the nuthatches invade its a good finch year.
>Kimball mentioned that here in the west nuthatch movements are associated
>with good Corvid years, invasions of crows and jays. They are seeing lots of
>jays and nutcrackers in odd places in the south. Perhaps the sudden
>northward push of Scrub Jays is due to something going on much further south
>than s. Washington!
>
> I would suggest that tweeters keep notes on the face patterns of migrant
>Steller's Jays, this may help to figure out where they come from. Loof for
>blue or white above the eye and any other noticeable feature present.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Al.
>
>Alvaro Jaramillo Where there's smoke doesn't mean
>Half Moon Bay, CA there is fire.
>alvaro at quake.net Just means there's smoke.
>
>
>http://www.quake.net/~alvaro/index.html