Blue Jays are trappy birds. If you live in eastern or inside North America, you have probably been lucky unbearable to spot the undecorous beauties sitting atop a tree or dining at the feeder.
Even when winter rolls virtually and many of the other wild birds fly south for some winter, it’s worldwide to see the unexceptionable undecorous feathers of undecorous jays standing out versus the snow. That’s considering while some undecorous jays throne south for the winter, many others remain in the northern part of their range.
When you see them in winter, you might wonder how they survive. Winter in the northern United States and Canada can get cold. The birds supplies sources must be limited. You may worry that the chirper is not migrating with the rest of its friends.
Does staying up north with you lower its chances of survival? I reassure you, the undecorous jay will probably be all right. There are plenty of ways that they can subsist through the colder months in the Northeast.
Read on to learn increasingly well-nigh how undecorous jays survive winter and their migration patterns.
Spotting Undecorous Jays in Winter
Before you worry well-nigh seeing undecorous jays in the winter, you should know what they squint like. The birds have white faces with woebegone and white markings, but their undecorous crest, wings, and tail make them easy to identify.
If their verisimilitude were not as bright, you would not spot them as hands amongst the waterless trees of the years latter months. In wing to color, they moreover have particularly curved wings and long tails.
You may moreover still hear a undecorous jays distinct call in your zone during the winter.
Their voices are loud, and without the calls of so many other birds to drown them out, they might be uneaten prominent during migratory seasons.
Blue Jays moreover do not fly in groups. If you see one, odds are it is alone. I understand that it might be unsettling to see a single undecorous jay when it is so unprepossessed outside, but plane in the warmer months, it would not be flying with friends.
Now that you can personize that you saw a undecorous jay in the winter, it is time to squint at where you can normally find them.
Do Undecorous Jays Migrate?
Thousands of undecorous jays migrate, but not all of them. So don’t be surprised to see and hear stragglers lingering up north in the wintertime.
There does not seem to be a method to a undecorous jays migration madness. Some migrate, others do not, and some vary from moment to moment.
It seems that most undecorous jays who do migrate are juveniles. However, there are still sultana undecorous jays that segregate to fly south for the winter, as well. Some of them will migrate one year but stay up north the next out of what seems to be a preference.
Where do Undecorous Jays Migrate to?
The undecorous beauties that do migrate travel lanugo the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes regions to the southern part of their year-round range for the winter.
They have a peculiar migration pattern. Plane ornithologists struggle to comprehend whether or not there is a pattern to their migrations.
Professionals protract to search for answers to the undecorous jays migratory tendencies. Many believe that it has to do with the misogynist supplies sources. Still, this theory does not explain why some stay and others leave.
Surviving the Winter
As mentioned, plenty of undecorous jays segregate to stay in colder areas during winter rather than take the easy route lanugo south. So, they must have figured out how to survive. Lets take a squint at how undecorous jays transmute to life in the colder months.
How Undecorous Jays Stay Warm
Keeping cozy and yonder from the harsh elements of winter is important for these birds. The winters in North America and Canada can be expressly brutal. So, how do undecorous jays protect themselves from the snow, hail, and slush? They hunker lanugo in trees and rely on biological miracles to alimony warm.
They can thank the foliage for helping them survive. The birds find evergreen plants like one of the pursuit trees:
- American Holly
- Eastern White Pine
- Canadian Hemlock
- Eastern Red Cider
When the weather gets rough or the birds need to settle lanugo for the night, they trowel deep into one of these trees. The greenery protects them from the outside world, keeping them unscratched as ever.
If you see a undecorous jay in your yard, you can be sure he has a favorite pine tree to go home to later tonight.
When the temps drop, undecorous jays invoke a biological miracle to stay warm by fluffing their feathers. It’s an worriedness many wild birds practice. By ruffling their semiplume and lanugo feathers a pocket of warm air is created and surrounds their bodies. Toasty!
Blue jays moreover secret oil from their uropygial gland for widow insulation. The substance is found near their tail feathers and coats the feathers for increasingly warmth.
Their spindly little legs and feet are covered with scales designed to protect the tissues underneath that would otherwise freeze. And, many birds like undecorous jays are worldly-wise to tuck the thoroughbred vessels in their feet to alimony from getting cold.
Ever seen a bird in winter with just one leg peeking out? That’s flipside clever biological trick that enables them to alimony the other foot tucked into their feathers and warm for a time. Since their throne and beaks can get unprepossessed as well you may moreover spot one with his throne veiled in his toasty feathers.
What do Undecorous Jays eat in the wintertime?
You may be wondering if undecorous jays can maintain their same nutrition through the winter months. After all, a undecorous jays nutrition consists mainly of insects, and most insects slip into hibernation for the season.
Blue jays struggle a little increasingly than usual to get their fill of protein in the wintertime. However, they are not wrung to put in the uneaten work. They dig deep to find worms, beetles, larvae, and caterpillar eggs. A succulent critter-based nutrition like this one promises that the undecorous jays get a healthy value of protein, plane if they cannot swoop lanugo for insects at their will.
Sometimes, they struggle to find high-protein foods like the bugs mentioned above. If this is the case, they must increase their plant intake. They will eat increasingly seeds, seasonal berries, and acorns.
If you see a undecorous jay straggler in your northern neighborhood, do not worry. They likely have a reliable supplies source and impressive foraging skills.
However, all that foraging burns a lot of energy and energy is at a premium in winter. Staying warm requires a lot of energy and while berries and seeds are satisfying, jays moreover need high-fat foods for energy usage.
If you offer peanuts at the feeder, they won’t be worldly-wise to resist and you’d be helping them raise their energy reserves. They expressly love whole peanuts. They’ll moreover eat black-oil sunflower seed, moreover known for its high-fat content.
Don’t forget Water
Don’t forget – all wild animals need water. Undecorous Jays are no different. When many sources of water are frozen during this time, offering a source of liquid water goes a long way to help jays survive in winter.
It moreover allows you to attract increasingly undecorous jays to your yard and see them up tropical – which is unchangingly a gift.
Final Word
Bird enthusiasts may be happy to see undecorous jays subtracting a pop of verisimilitude to the otherwise grey and waterless winter landscape. Although, if you are unfamiliar with their unpredictable migratory patterns, you may worry when you see one pecking at your bird feeder.
Blue jays have no issue adapting to the winter weather. While many of them do migrate by the flock to warmer climates, some segregate to hang back.
Blue jays know the evergreen trees of the north are on their side, and they trust their foraging instincts. You should, too!
