The Blue Jay is the alarm of the woods

By Al Lowe
Contributor

At 90 above or 40 below, the strident call of the Blue Jay can be heard in the northern forest.
Jays are not true migrants, but some of them do drift southwards. They usually do so in small groups of 6, or 10 or 40. No one really knows how far south they go. Southern Blue Jays look exactly the same as northern ones, and of course some of them don't migrate at all.
With its striking blur plumage, its prominent crest, and its raucous call, the jay is an extremely well-known bird. It has quite happily adapted to civilization, and is found right in the cities and suburbs, as well as out in the wilderness.
Jays do have some habits which are downright annoying. Take that noisy alarm signal, for instance. If you are a hunter, you have probably wished that all jays were in Hades. He will watch you as you move quietly through the woods, and then, just when you are onto something, he will shriek that alarm call, alerting every moose, deer, grouse and duck for a mile or more. Other wild things do pay close attention to that call, too.
Jays are ravenous feeders. They will gulp down everything on your feeder as fast as they can. If they can't eat it right now, they will cart it off to be hidden in the crotch of a tree for future reference. Watch them at acorn time. They hold nuts in their feet, while smashing the daylights out of them, using that hard beak like a hammer.
They are certainly not all bad. In addition to nuts and seeds, the jays eats a lot of insects. In particular, it is very fond of the pupae of the tent caterpillar, and of the caterpillar themselves. Jays may very well play a large part in reducing the outbreaks of these injurious insects.
The Blue Jay's sounds are not all brassy either. He often produces a melodious, liquid bell-like call. And he has a little secret 'whisper' song, sung very low, which is a courtship sound, and is not intended to be heard by the general public.
Flying is not the jay's strong point. Watch him and you will see that much of his flight consists of planing, with wings and tail spread wide.
He prefers not to be in the wide open spaces, where he is a very easy mark for hawks and owls. Have you ever heard the jays when they find an owl in a tree in the daytime? Talk about noise! They will flock around the poor, helpless owl, screaming at him, and badgering him for hours. Crows, which are related to jays do the same thing.
In spite of his noise and his other faults, the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a rather likeable bird. We would certainly miss that sudden jarring note, and that flash of blue in the winter. He sort of hangs around with us up here in the north, and brightens up some of those dreary winter days.