> I live in a moderately dense residential neighborhood in Lake City.
>Plenty of trees, but no large stands. Is my experience unique, i.e.,
>was there simply no breeding pair in my neighborhood, or do the
>Steller's retreat uphill or to the parks to breed?
>
>Kelly Cassidy

One thing all jays do is to become extremely inconspicuous during the
breeding season. They essentially shut up, seemingly a difficult feat for
a corvid. The Steller's Jays in my neighborhood do exactly as you
wrote--disappear in summer and reappear in August. But occasionally during
the summer I would hear one calling from within a block of me. They may
well restrict their activity to an area fairly close to the nest, and, even
though it's only a block away, they may in fact never visit our yards
during the summer. They're at the feeders every day now.

When I was in Siberia a few years ago, really hoping to see Siberian Jays,
a local ornithologist told me "hardly a chance; it's the breeding season."

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416