Brian, thanks for your fun observations!
Our main event every morning is 15-20 magpies storming the peanut feeder in a five-minute burst of energy…… =)
Regarding your Blue Jay…. reminds me of an observation that Missy and I had of two of them in Idaho Falls five years ago ( oh ouch, time flies by too fast !! )
our eBird list is here:
Motel West in IF, Bonneville, Idaho, US
May 13 , 2014 2:05 PM
Protocol: Incidental
1 species
Blue Jay 2 1 bird called, flew across parking lot to 2nd bird, together in smallish flowering tree they were right next to each other, one had a beak full of presumed nesting material, looked like shredded plastic netting or nylon rope, we watched them for several minutes and they never departed. Darren mentioned he might try for photos. we did not find them on the following day at that location.
View this checklist online at [ https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S18397496 | https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S18397496 ]
Anyway, I’ve been curious about your BLJA, so I just now peeked at the annual cycle for them in their BNA species account (below). What the authors illustrate is an aggregate of several different populations, so my interpretation of the cycle shown is “loose.” However, we can glean a basic idea of the timing of migration, breeding, and molt, and it will be interesting to see how long your bird remains……. =)
The birds we saw appeared to be kinda sorta on schedule for breeding, but BLJA in Idaho could be “outliers” having their own schedules, eh?
Larry, Boise
Figure 6. Annual cycle of the Blue Jay.
Thick lines show peak activity; thin lines, off-peak.
Citation – Smith, K. G., K. A. Tarvin, and G. E. Woolfenden (2013). Blue Jay ( Cyanocitta cristata ), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F.. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. [ https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.469 | https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.469 ]
From: “lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible]”
To: “IBLE”
Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2019 4:21:04 PM
Subject: [IBLE] All Showed Today
The sunshine this weekend brought about a lot of feeder activity. And, today, not only large numbers of birds hitting the feeders but some surprises.
The Blue Jay continues its visits, mostly in the mornings. Then, sporadic visits for spilled seeds by the 2 Harris’ Sparrows continue throughout the day. But, a surprise, was a female Purple Finch. Haven’t seen one in quite a while & then had a 15 minute visit by a female for sunflower seeds this afternoon. A definite contrast to the usual House Finch females.
Pine Siskins appeared at the thistle seed feeder yesterday & continue today.. One very bright yellow individual gives nice contrast to the drab winter phase Am Goldfinches arriving by the droves. Cedar Waxwings were perched in aspen trees, flycatching midges hatching from a Snake River overflow channel.
Combined with some overhead flights of Bald Eagle, a few Red-tailed Hawks, including a dark phase one, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, N Harrier & a Sharp-shinned Hawk, it’s been a good day!
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
