Blue Jays migrate. The ones that you see in the winter may be ones that stick around or ones from farther north. At Hitchcock Hawkwatch in September and early October , we count large numbers of Blue Jays in flocks and headed south. I don't know (off the top of my head) what the one day record is , but something like 4,500 seems right. At some of the Great Lakes hawkwatches, they regulate count 10,000-20,000 Blue Jays headed south in a single day (and I think have had single day records of 100,000 + if memory serves). Some sites. like Holiday Beach in Ontario, Canada actually have volunteers (known as Blue Jay coordinaters) who do nothing but count the huge number of passing Blue Jays while every one else counts raptors... Such migration , on a smaller scale, also occurs at eastern ridge system sites. I remember counting hawks at Dolly Sods State Park in West Virginia and, because of the contours of the ridge system there, having Blue Jays streaming around me -- literally a few feet away...
Mark O Mark O ---- Matt Baumann <[email protected]> wrote: ============= Odd. During the winter months, we have a flock of 6 that all hits the sunflower feeder at the same time. But this flock disperses in the Spring as it has now. On Apr 30, 2013, at 7:20 PM, "Sarah and/or Trish" <[email protected]> wrote: > While in the yard trying to see the very vocal Brown Thrasher, a group of > 35-40 Blue Jays flew over. Anyone have any thoughts why that many Blue Jays > were together? I did not think the migrated. > > thanks > Sarah Bissell > W. Burlington, IA > --- > Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members > make it! > --- > Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: > Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 > --- > This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership > available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/PayDues.aspx. > ----- > You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected] --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/PayDues.aspx. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected] --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/PayDues.aspx. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
