Hi Tweets and Jay watchers -
“I don’t know what all the fuss is about.“ I have been living in the Tacoma area since 2002. I don’t recall when I began noticing Scrub Jays, but certainly over the last 20 years, I have been seeing them regularly throughout the year, though maybe not in large numbers. At Mountain View Cemetery for example, I can be assured of seeing multiple birds anytime I’ve gone there for a number of years.
I guess these postings remind me to appreciate my sightings going forward.
Incidentally, I’m always surprised to see how often Steller’s Jay is misspelled in Tweeters’ posts. This species, likewise Steller’s Sea Lion and Steller’s Sea Eagle, is named by/for German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller. Please spread the word ☺️
Good birding,
Greg Pluth
University Place
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 27, 2025, at 12:13 PM, Steve Loitz via Tweeters wrote:
CASJs are now in and around Ellensburg. A few years ago, it was rare to see one north of Yakima.
Steve Loitz
Ellensburg WA
I am regularly seeing California Scrub Jay in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. The Stelars Jays still outnumber them significantly.
For better and worse, Scrub Jays are quite good at expanding territory. Back when I was living in California there was an area I was monitoring regularly over a number of years, and over about a decade, we saw it go from being primarily a Stellar’s Jay area to Scrub Jay territory with only a couple of isolated Stellar’s families in the deeper wooded areas. I expect by now the Stellar’s have been completely pushed out. Scrub Jays keep more of a family unit going than Stellar’s, which I think gives them an advantage when competing for territory (much like Northern Mockingbirds do). The Scrub Jays adapt much more easily to suburban and urban environments.
Chuq
_______________________________________________
Tweeters mailing list
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
-- Steve Loitz
Ellensburg, WA