You are currently browsing the daily archive for December 7th, 2008.
| Weather and Effort: December 3, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| When did you watch your feeders? | Day 1: morning afternoon Day 2: morning afternoon |
| Estimated cumulative time: | 1 to 4 hours |
| Daylight temperature: | 1 to 10° C (33 to 50° F) low 11 to 20° C (51 to 68° F) high |
| Daylight precipitation: | None – - |
| Total depth of ice/snow cover: | None |
Checklist for FeederWatch California Region Birds
| Mourning Dove | 4 |
| Anna’s Hummingbird | 1 |
| Steller’s Jay | 4 |
| Western Scrub-Jay | 3 |
| Chestnut-backed Chickadee | 3 |
| Oak Titmouse | 1 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| California Towhee | 2 |
| Fox Sparrow | 1 |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 9 |
| Golden-crowned Sparrow | 5 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 6 |
| House Finch | 10 (0 with eye disease) |
| American Goldfinch | 1 (0 with eye disease) |
Steller’s Jay
Steller’s Jays visit my backyard just about everyday. They compete with the Western Scrub Jays and the squirrels for the peanuts I throw out.
A striking crested bird of bright blue and black, the Steller’s Jay is a familiar sight around campgrounds in the mountains of the West.
Description
- Large songbird.
- Crest on head dark blue or black.
- Head, chest, and back brownish-black.
- Wings, tail, and body deep blue.
- Size: 30-34 cm (12-13 in)
- Weight: 100-140 g (3.53-4.94 ounces)
Sex Differences
Sexes look alike
Sound
Large variety of loud and harsh calls. Common call a harsh “shaar,” and a rapid rattling “shek, shek, shek, shek.”
Cool Facts
- The Steller’s Jay and the Blue Jay are the only New World jays that use mud in the construction of their nests.
- The Steller’s Jay shows a great deal of variation in appearance throughout its range, with some populations featuring black crests and backs, and others blue. One black-crested form in southern Mexico is surrounded by eight other blue-crested forms.
- The Steller’s Jay periodically irrupts away from its normal range. Most of these far-ranging individuals appear to be young birds.
- Steller’s and Blue jays are the only North American jays with crests. The Blue Jay is expanding its range westward. Where they meet, the two species occasionally interbreed and produce hybrids.
Visit Project FeederWatch for more information and to find out how you can become a citizen scientist and count the birds you your own backyard!
