Subject: [Tweeters] Western Scrub Jays - long response
Date: Sep 10 19:49:55 2005
From: Georgia Conti - Georgia.Conti at Seattle.Gov


Hi Tweets:

I replied to Megan directly but then saw Brett's posting. My husband
reported the Western Scrub-jay on the 2004 Christmas Bird Count in West
Seattle. We live within 1/4 mile of Schmitz Reserve. We first saw
WESJs 2 years ago. Until now, the birds have frequented our yard one at
a time, but yesterday I had two in the yard at the same time. I'm
pretty sure one was an adult and the other was a juvenile.
Unfortunately, the juvie escaped before I could get a good bead on it.
Although I've not found a nest, I suspect they are breeding nearby. I
have to admit that I'm not too happy to have yet another corvid hanging
around. These days I rarely get warblers in my yard. And, I warn Paul
and Barbara Webster to look out for them as they move further north to
their yard.

Georgia Conti
West Seattle




Georgia Conti
Sr. Planning and Development Specialist
City of Seattle Human Services Department
618 Second Avenue, 7th Floor
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 684-0113
fax (206) 684-0146
email: georgia.conti at seattle.gov

>>> Brett Wolfe <m_lincolnii at yahoo.com> 09/09/05 12:31 PM >>>

Hello Megan,

>From my understanding of past discussions about Western Scrub-jays
(WESJ), they are not that common up here, but their numbers are
increasing as they move into the area. Last time I checked a couple
years back, there were known to be at least 5 pairs in the Seattle area
(West Seattle, Arboretum, Rainier Valley and Ballard are the ones I can
remember off the top of my head). Most of the WESJ are counted annually
on the Christmas Bird Count. One of the pairs (Ballard) breed in a close
friend of mine's backyard. WESJ have been sited in Vancouver, BC as
well, and their numbers are growing in southwestern Washington.
Unfortunately, most of the range maps in field guides, even "updated"
field guides, are at best a few years old and no longer show reality of
many birds ranges. Species such as WESJ, Northern Cardinal, Grey Catbird
and Blue Jay are expanding their known territories, while other species
are losing ground. And if you spend any time in the east during the
winter, you h!
e!
ar all
kinds of accounts of "odd" hummingbirds over there during the winter -
Allen's, Rufous, etc. Yet all of the range maps show that only the
Ruby-throat lives on the east coast. Hopefully, someone will do a full
upgrade to range maps soon, so that future field guide editions can be
corrected to something closer to reality.

Congratulations on your great sighting. The WESJ's are really neat birds
and quite beautiful in their plumage.

Brett A. Wolfe

Seattle, WA

m_lincolnii at yahoo.com





Megan Sheppard <megans at drizzle.com> wrote: Hello out there. I am not the
queen of birding by any means, but I was so startled by two visitors to
my peanut platter Tuesday (9/6) that I decided to figure out what they
were and to rejoin Tweeters.

I glanced out the kitchen window, and amid the Steller's Jays were at
least two debonair blue and gray creatures with the white wispy stripe
on the eyebrow. (My old friend Paul Cozens will laugh out loud, I'm
sure, at that very scientific description.)

They really were magnificent, and I had never seen them before. For what
it's worth, I'm on the hillside above Alki, near Schmitz Park, and they
were here around 10 a.m.

Are the Western Scrub Jays common here? Sibley doesn't really show them
as being around here much, but I think it was the Seattle Audubon site
that mentioned an increase lately.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for other interesting oddities-
Megan Sheppard
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