[texbirds] Re: Yard birding, jays crows and the end of summer and a question

  • From: Keith Arnold <kbarnold2@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Warblers Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary <warblerwoods@xxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:42:06 -0500

All,
I'm not sure that we should consider these Blue Jay movements as migratory
which to me implies [seasonal] regular movements between two geographically
separate areas.  Do Blue Jays make extended movements after the breeding
season on a regular [seasonal] basis? I think not. Rather, I think these
movements represent reaction to food supplies - or lack thereof.

Keith Arnold
Professor Emeritus
Texas A&M University


On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 8:02 PM, Susan Schaezler <warblerwoods@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> We have also been invaded by them
>
> Susan Schaezler
> Warbler Woods Bird Sanctuary
> 501(c)(3) Cibolo/Schertz
> Texas Land Steward Winner
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Oct 30, 2013, at 7:06 PM, Stenmead@xxxxxxx wrote:
> >
> > Joe and All,
> >
> > During the summer months I saw few if any Blue Jays.  Then about 3  weeks
> > ago I counted 30 flying south to north through the neithborhood in  one
> big
> > flock.  The next day there were about 10 at the feeder and bird  bath,
> all
> > carrying on.  There have been three only in my yard for the last  10
> days.
> >
> > My questions are: where are the "migrating/flying" from and too?   Where
> > have they been all summer?
> >
> > Stennie Meadours
> > San Leon
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 10/30/2013 9:01:39 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
> > josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx writes:
> > Blue  jays continue to add life and mystery to the back yard. While 2
> > family
> > groups of jays summered nearby compared to the 5 or 6 groups  normally
> > present until the bad west nile a couple of years ago, they did  not do
> well
> > with young. The alarm jay which was the only survivor of the  breeding
> birds
> > close by continues with one group but still is not  integrated. It is
> also
> > the only bird that imitates hawks on approaching the  balcony.
> > I have seen or heard no migrant jays this fall although there have  been
> > more at Smith Point than in any year I have been there. Normally the
>  local
> > birds serenade migrants following the bayou to make sure they do not
>  tarry.
> >
> > Also, I have seen no comments on texbirds or elsewhere about  jay
> > migrations. It seems that it would be a migration year of some local
>  birds
> > as last year was an enormous acorn year and this year is a bad year.  I
> have
> > not seen my jays carrying any acorns back home yet this  fall.
> >
> > Has anyone seen migrant jays in numbers anywhere  around.
> >
> > Crows are another bird that vanished with west nile locally.  One and
> maybe
> > 2 birds were around a little last winter but vanished come  spring. I did
> > not have crows until a couple of weeks ago when a crow wave  went over
> one
> > morning but did not linger. I have heard a couple birds in  late evening
> > since that flight.
> >
> > Yesterday while making groceries, a  large group of crows gathered on a
> > nearby office building in early  afternoon. More birds joined them as I
> was
> > leaving the parking lot but lots  of horn honking at somebody stopped my
> > count. But there have been no crows  in that area for several years. They
> > appear to be urban acclimated so came  from a town environment.
> >
> > The red-bellied woodpeckers raised no young  here this summer and one of
> the
> > 3 regular pairs vanished in  mid-summer.
> >
> > Also, the cardinals raised no local young but some fully  grown and
> molting
> > birds arrived at the feeders after the breeding season.  Most of them
> have
> > moved on temporarily with the ripening of the ragweed and  will be back
> in
> > December.
> >
> > House finches did well and left for the  ragweed feast in early October.
> > However some birds showed up again but  based on plumage, they were not
> the
> > birds that left nor birds that had been  around all summer. They just
> moved
> > out in the last couple of  days.
> >
> > And Carolina wrens had almost no young except for a possible very  late
> > brood which did not stay around with the parents so may have been  lost.
> >
> > House sparrows had a banner year with several broods for each  female and
> > are not going anywhere. The common grackles were absent all  summer for
> the
> > first time but a couple of birds are now around and have not  joined the
> > fall flocks which are also absent in the absence of acorns.  Great-tailed
> > grackles never repopulated a traditional corner after west  nile. But
> there
> > have been no starlings or cowbirds all summer which makes  up for the
> > grackle loss.
> >
> > Chickadees and titmice did well with  youngsters but appear to be having
> a
> > shortage of natural food right now and  are ravenous at the feeders all
> day.
> > The wintering Wilson's warbler showed  up on schedule, attracted some
> > friends but they did not stay after several  days. Lack of spiders around
> > the balconies and windows did not really keep  them around. The Wilson's
> > warbler is my current mixed species flock around  the house. Have heard a
> > ruby-crowned kinglet so the flock may increase with  the next front.
> >
> > --
> > Joseph C. Kennedy
> > on Buffalo Bayou in West  Houston
> > Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
> >
> >
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