At 01:23 PM 10/9/97 -0700, you wrote:
>1) Blue Jays and Black-billed Magpies occur together in Alberta and
>the Peace district of n.e. BC;
>2) The breeding range of Blue Jays has shown a historical spread westward
>into n.e. BC during the past 50 years, and is likely now starting to fan
>out both north and south. I would not be surprised to see breeding Blue Jay
>records from both the Fort Nelson corner and anywhere near the Alberta
>border south from 54N latitude within the next five years.

I'm not sure of the official status, but within the City of Edmonton I'd
say the Blue Jay were locally common.

Futher North, there are Blue Jays in Ft. McMurray that stay near backyard
feeders through the winter and are around in summer. Although I can't
confirm this, my guess is that there is a small breeding colony in the
area. Still a long way to go to the Alberta/BC border though!


Eric Greenwood
Vancouver, B.C.
egreenw at IntraNet.bc.ca