On November 28, 2020 I saw and photographed the first Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay I’d ever seen in my yard. Two days ago I photographed my second one.
I’d been hearing jays in the neighborhood for a couple of days and the previous day an extended and very noisy interaction between several jays and a Cooper’s Hawk in my neighbor’s huge trees was hard to ignore. But none of them appeared in my yard and I got no photos.
But two days ago, while I was photographing California Quail from my patio, this jay suddenly appeared in the snowball bush next to my back fence. I spent 27 minutes with ‘him’ and he spent much of that time trying to figure out how to feed at my cylinder feeder. More about that in a minute.
Typical of jays, he made a racket everywhere he went. Which made it ridiculously easy for me to know exactly where he was as he explored my yard and garden.
Eventually he discovered the rebar I use as a support pole for my cylinder feeder and assumed a pose that showed off his magnificent blue tail. The red in the background is the amaranth in my garden.
He spent a long time trying to determine if there was anything good to eat in that seed cylinder and if so, how to get to it. He tried several times but it seemed like he couldn’t figure out how to get to the cylinder with that red rain-protective ‘lid’ in the way.
So he gave up and explored my garden. Here he’s on my pole bean trellis, with his long blue tail sticking through one of the openings in the wire.
He flew up to one of the metal posts supporting the trellis and began making enough noise to wake the dead.
In this shot it looks like he’s about to poop but he’s just trying to regain his balance after making a quick 180° turn on the post.
Then he took off and disappeared in the snowball bush again.
The next time I saw him he’d landed on my bird bath for a drink. I’m embarrassed by the condition of the bird bath – it’s scummy and most of the water has evaporated. My excuse is that I’ve been working on a huge indoor project for nearly three weeks and the day before I’d forgotten to clean and fill the bird bath. Rest assured, it’s now squeaky clean and full of water.
In the nearly half hour I spent with him he returned multiple times to the cylinder feeder to try to figure out how to get to the seed. Eventually he realized that he was big enough to…
reach the seed from the vertical part of the pole. After this success he returned several times for a snack.
I always buy the Bug Nut and Berry Cylinders from my friends at Wild Birds Unlimited. Those cylinders contain mealworms, tree nuts, sunflower chips, peanuts, raisins, and cranberries (without the mealworms I’d probably gnaw on those cylinders too).
Being a jay, he always picked off one of the nuts for his snack and ignored everything else.
And he always flew off to a secluded place to enjoy his prize. He disappeared not long after he ate this nut and I never saw him again.
After listening to him squawk for 27 minutes, the sudden quiet was almost deafening.
Ron
What a pretty bird! Of course I’ve been conditioned to think of Cyanocitta cristata as ‘the’ blue jay, but I’m learning. I wondered if the calls of our blue jay and those of this bird were similar, but it seems not. I was especially interested in the cylinder you mentioned. I get my seed at Wild Birds Unlimited, and now that I seem to have gotten rid of my rats, it’s time to restock in time for fall and winter. I think I’ll give a cylinder a try, along with my other feeders.
Shoreacres, those particular cylinders (there are several varieties) are my favorites, overall. They seem to appeal to the most birds over different seasons.
I wish I had your luck with rats, which seem to have invaded the entire city of Murray this year. See tomorrow’s (planned) post.
Loved the story and the photos. Beautiful bird – but I am partial to blue. So glad that he was able to get something good to eat. Keep up the good work!!
Thank you, Judy.
What a delightful visitor! I’ve seen bits and pieces of Scrub Jays on birding trips over the years, but usually partially obstructed or horrendously backlit. Now I feel like I’ve finally seen one! Such a handsome bird. I hope it returns!
Thanks, Diane. I’ve been watching (and listening) for him all day today but no luck so far.
What fun to see and read your scrub jay’s adventures! They are excellent — if noisy — problem-solvers and it’s a joy to watch the wheels turn! Your post brings me back several years to the scrub jay nest in my neighbor’s bamboo. I had a prime vantage point from one of the windows in my living room. Once the bamboo was removed (that stuff definitely takes over!), the jays disappeared too and I haven’t seen any around lately.
This morning, I had about a dozen small, round, greenish birds hanging out in my lemon tree. I couldn’t get a good enough view for any hope of identification, but I sure enjoyed the company and real tweeting. 🙂
Thanks, Marty. I hope your small green birds return for long enough for you to ID them.
Wonderful pics of a truly wonderful bird with personality plus! As a huge fan of the (CA) Scrub Jay, I’m here to warn you that once these guys discover the bounty in your yard, you may never be rid of them. Not that I would ever want to be! I’ve been entertaining (and entertained by) several jay friends — I think of them as siblings — for several years now, and the bravest of the 3 squawks until I come outside with peanuts and hand-feed them to him. He’s VERY picky, so I go thru a lot of peanuts to find the exact weight and girth to suit his taste. 😂
I have regular Cooper’s visits, too, and have yet to see one even think about going after a jay. The little birdies are much easier (and a bit quieter) pickings for the hawks.
“once these guys discover the bounty in your yard, you may never be rid of them”
I’d be fine with that, Chris – squawking or no squawking. And I’m jealous that you have one eating out of your hand.
My Scrubby is very demanding, but he lets me take pics and video occasionally, and I’m honored that he trusts me. It could happen to you, too, if “Woody” the SJ decides to frequent your yard. 😉
Envious of your jay friend, Chris! They know a good person when they see one.
What a wonderful series of photos and story about this Jay. I always enjoy your posts, and this one was particularly enjoyable. Thanks for continuing on with your blog.
Much appreciated, Nancy.
What a great way to spend a half-hour, listening and watching and photographing this beautiful bird! I’m glad he finally figured out how to access your feeder.
There have been some California Scrub Jays this summer up here in central WA – not their usual territory, but really lovely to see. (And very similar in appearance to your guy.) They also are noisy, bopping around the yard. Can’t have too many jays of any kind, in my opinion!
“very similar in appearance to your guy”
Carolyn, that’s part of the reason why, until 2016, Woodhouse’s and California Scrub Jays were considered the same species – the Western Scrub Jay.
Fun post Ron and excellent write up. We have them often in the backyard and we have one that is so large he cannot hang onto
the standard size suet/insect feeder. I am a proponent of doing
away with the honorary named birds so I still call them Western
Scrub Jays. I am all for a name such as Stellar who actually
discovered the first Scrub Jay on what is now Kodiak Island off
Alaska many years back, but am against the honorary names given for a friend of the discoverer.
Thanks, Everett. Yes, eponymous names for birds have become very controversial, for good reason in many cases.
Love this day in the life of a jay. I haven’t seen a scrub jay before – seems like we don’t have them in Wisconsin – but they’re noticeably smaller and cuter than the blue jays we often see here. Sounds like they’re equally good at making a racket, though.
Thanks, Melanie. You’re right, they don’t go anywhere near Wisconsin.
Beautiful! For a few years we had regular Blue Jays in the yard in the fall but not in recent years….. Like where he figured out the feeder. 🙂 They’re right up there with the Kingfishers when it comes to noise! 😉 We do still have a few of the latter screaming through the yard. In an unusual moment one parked on a rock in the creek after a dive. Too far away to see if he had anything.
Thanks, Judy. I won’t even try to photograph kingfishers again until the leaves fall off the trees. Before that happens it’s just an exercise in frustration.
Thanks so much for giving me my first looks at a Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay. Beautiful bird, even if they are noisy, and this is a great collection of shots. Thanks again.
Thank you, Burrdoo.
Such fun pictures and comments. In FL we have the FL Scrub Jay but they are in trouble because of habitat loss.
Thanks, Laurie. I’ve heard that the Florida Scrub Jay is in peril.
This is a great post! The photos are wonderful! But your story-telling is so engaging. And this is true of many of your blog posts. Have you ever considered compiling some of your stories and publishing them in book form? I could help you edit them. (Did Diane ever suggest something like that? I feel as if I am channeling her. . .and that she would have offered her editing chops if she were here.)
“your story-telling is so engaging”
That part of your comment gave me the warm fuzzies, Sue. Especially coming from you.
Yes, Diane offered. Several times. But a book just isn’t going to happen. Too much work.
Lovely array of photos ! Down south here in Cedar City– first time
ever having scrub jays in my yard, and also for another friend in a
different part of town ! OF COURSE we knew they were present because of the racket–such an elegant-looking creature to be making
such an ungodly collection of sounds ….I prefer looking at your
images !
“an ungodly collection of sounds”
That’s a pretty accurate description, Kris. Made me smile.
Sorry, I solved the problem by going to your website rather than viewing your post in my email.
Richard, when I originally set up my blog I turned off the option that included the entire post in those post emails. It worked fine for years but at some point, WordPress turned it back on with no input from me.
I’ll try once more to turn it off again.
Hi Ron. When I view your recent posts, your photos appear as thumbnails. Am I the only one with this problem?
Best wishes!
Recently in my email the photos are smaller too so I go to the net.
Judy, I never know what WordPress is going to do to my settings.
Nice photos. The composition of that one with ‘his’ tail poking through the wire is – for reasons I cannot quite describe – particularly appealing.
Was not aware that the Western Scrub Jay got split into two species (2016). Still getting used to the name change from Brown Towhee to California Towhee. Just can’t keep up.
A Jay by any other name is still a interesting, curious and noisy little bugger.
I’m glad you like that “tail poking” shot, Michael. I played around with the composition of that photo for quite a while. And because of the unusual composition, I made that photo 1100 pixels wide instead of my usual 900 pixels. For readers on a big screen, it should make a difference.
And I agree, “lumping and splitting” of bird names can be quite frustrating – especially if you’re a birder who keeps lists.
What a beautiful little bird. I hope the Cooper’s doesn’t get him!
“I hope the Cooper’s doesn’t get him!”
I’ve had the same thought, Cathy. There are plenty of House Sparrow’s around to keep the Coop’s belly full.
What a beautiful bird and terrific photos.
Thanks, Karen.