The bottom line is that Woodhouse's Jay is a species of Nevada, N. Arizona etc.
that occasionally may cross into Oregon in the border region from se Klamath Co
to the Idaho line. It likes junipers in our area.
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 7, 2016, at 1:31 PM, Michael Medina <802redwood@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Can someone boil this down to a simplified map /graphic for me please? I'm
super busy for the next 2-3 days but would like to try to keep up with this.
I realize it may not be that straightforward.
Michael Medina
On Thu, Jul 7, 2016 at 12:51 Hendrik Herlyn <hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Bill and all,
The answer to your question is: Nobody really knows! We all have to go out
and start taking a closer look at the scrub-jays we encounter in
southeastern Oregon.
As I pointed out in my previous post to OBOL/COBOL, the best places to look
are the remote open juniper woodlands in the Warners and east, along Deep
Creek, around Adel, etc. But beware: California Scrub-Jays have spread deep
into that territory and are the ones we find in all the towns, including
Lakeview and Burns/Hines. These birds can easily stray into habitats more
suited to Woodhouse's, so don't assume any scrub-jay seen in juniper
woodlands to automatically be of that form.
Carefully check plumage characteristics, behavior and voice before arriving
at an ID and the coveted tick on your state list. I'm sure we'll see a slew
of Woodhouse's sightings in the next months after the split, but the truth
is, we still know very little about the distribution and habits of this bird
in Oregon. Perhaps someone can get a project together to do some
mist-netting and DNA work to answer some of these questions!
Have fun out there - Woodhouse's country is beautiful country, with or
without the jay!
Hendrik
On Thu, Jul 7, 2016 at 12:29 PM, Bill Tice <watice@xxxxxxx> wrote:
So with the split of Western Scrub jay affecting Oregon, do the two new
species interbreed here in Oregon? Do their ranges overlap? And, where
does one "assume" he is clearly in Woodhouse Jay territory? I saw some
scrub jays east of Lakeview a couple summers ago when looking for Juniper
Titmice. What about the ones which reside in the town of Burns? I suspect
some of Oregon Birders would like to know such info. Thanks
Bill Tice: Birding - The best excuse for getting outdoors, and avoiding
chores.
--
__________________________
Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."
-- Gary Snyder
