Bluejay Shortage

[Hanover Bill]

This is off the Purple Martin topic for a second, but has anyone out there noticed a shortage of Bluejays at their feeders this winter.

I usually have lots of them, but not this year. Other regular feeder visitors have been here in their normal numbers, lots of Cardinals and all of the others, but the Bluejays are noticeable by their absence.

I was wondering if there is something affecting their numbers or if my situation is just an anomaly of my location.

Would be interested in feedback.

Hanover Bill.

[jeffwilliams72]

Bill, I thought the same thing last year "where are my Blue Jays?"
They have been here all winter this year, though.
I do know West Nile Virus can be hard on them. They also seem to travel in nomadic bands.
Maybe they are all hanging out somewhere else in your area. I was worried last year, but they are back at my place burning up the peanuts full force.
Have you been offering peanuts in the shell? I can be out of peanuts for a week, and 10 mins. after putting them out, here come the Blue Jays! They are very smart,members of the crow family, so it's no wonder.

[Don Strickland]

Bill,
No shortage down here in my neck of the woods.
Don

[Louise Chambers]

No Blue Jays at all in south TX, they do not come this far south and I miss them. But - a lot of our normal winter birds never showed up at feeders this year, and we are guessing it's due to such mild weather further north.

Winters usually bring us all kinds of neat native sparrows, especially Lincoln's - but have only seen a couple. Lots of white-crowned, some savannahs. A few Lark Buntings, Vesper and Lark Sparrows, Chipping and Clay-colored, but not many.

We had more hummingbirds than usual this winter too - Annas, rufous/allens, Broad-tails. But when weather got colder several weeks ago, they left.

[Carlton]

We have lots of blue jays here in urban South FL. They really are the sentinels of the bird world! I think they like the live oak acorns in this area.

[Hugh Criswell]

i live in central georgia and i have noticed over the past 10 or 15 years that during the spring and summer i have seen fewer and fewr Bluejays nesting in my area.They were every where when i was a boy growing up. Not sure what has caused a decline in my area.

[Hanover Bill]

Thanks for all of the good replies to my post. I am thinking that perhaps it's just a quirk of nature, and the Bluejays will be back full force soon in my area. They certainly are a beautiful bird when placed against a backdrop of freshly fallen snow.

Just so the Martins show up this year in my back yard. Hoping this will be my year.

Good luck to all with your Martins.

Hanover Bill.

[Carlton]

I do know that the West Nile Virus attacks crows and jays. It might be having some effect on the numbers of such.

[John Miller]

I see them around St. Louis...was attending a birding lecture a while back and heard an interesting story.

Blue jays nest in Forest Park, an urban park here, and a birder observed them using the plastic moulding off cans of six-pack aluminum beverage cans as scaffolding for their nests. He said that in a forested area of the park in spring, he'd look up and see a blue jay flying over with the moulding in its beak. Of course this urban trash is a hazard to wildlife, but the jays were making use of it.

john m

[Tim Stover]

no shortage here in madisonville Tn my two cents

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

Not many around my neck of the woods either and thats perfectly fine with me.

[Wendell Hansen-IA]

the West Nile Virus did hit the jays hard all over the US. The good part is that they are making a come back. There was a time that I did not like them any were around my feeders or even in the yard.

About four years ago I watch a jay fly down and kill and eat a house sparrow. Since then I have seen them kill and eat about 12 or so. The jays like to go after the ones that have just fledg.

Now I look at them as one of the good guys, and put out extra peanuts in the shell just for the jays for a job well done.

[Carlton]

Has anyone ever seen a Florida Jay? They are quite rare. To me they almost look like a cross between a Blue Jay and a Mockingbird.

[Louise Chambers]

The wonderful Florida Scrub Jays I am a big fan of all types of jays and crows. I dropped some peanuts for the FL guys... there are western scrub jays too. The FL ones are threatened or possibly endangered, I think.

[Martin man RI]

From what i have been told there food supply (egg corns)
has crashed and along with it many bluejay have perished over winter
have not seen a bluejay in over 2 months none at all. The hawks that feed on them in the spring will have to change there diet to other mid size birds
hope its not Martins. I dont pay much attention to jays so I cannot say for sure that this happens alot. Its very weird.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Noticed the same thing here, very few blue jays. Same thing happened to the crows but they have started to make a comeback the last 2 years it seems.

[Carlton]

I think all the crows are here in South FL. Ray. We have both the American Crow and the Fish Crow. Sometimes I see flocks of hundred of them. Lots of black vultures too especially around the waterways looking for fish and around the city dumps.

[RC Moser]

BlueJays's have good points and some bad. The rob robin nests and other song bird nests. While they are pretty, make some very interesting and distinctive chatter (like hawks), and are good hawk watchers. IMO they are very destructive also. So as with about everything in nature what we see may not be what we think we see. It's not just sparrows they are killing.

[Annie G]

Bill, Yes I have noticed a big drop of blues at my feeder. Last year I had about 20 coming daily to my feeders. I put out peanut rejects and they love them. This year I've seen maybe 6 at the most at one time. ??? Annie

[Don Troha]

No shortage of Blue Jays here. I just watched a pair of them chase off a
hawk that was perched in a tree next door. Okay with me because there
are PMs cruising the skies. The Blue Jays help keep the hawks away.