Western Scrub-Jay, Aphelocoma californica
Jay's
are the sentinels of the forest.
They shriek loudly to announce your entry into the forest. Jay's make a huge ruckus when something note worthy is happening. One time we herd loud shrieking outside. We went to investigate and lots of scrub jays where all riled up in an oak tree. It turned out there was a gopher snake high in the oak tree eating nestling.
Diet of the Western scrub-jay
The western scrub jay is an omnivorous bird eating most anything. Its most notorious cuisine consists of other bird eggs and baby birds. They also eat acorns, seeds, fruits and nuts. They like to store acorns in the soil, not a very long term storage site. Many of these acorns are forgotten and later germinate. They can be heard in the nursery pecking away furiously at an acorn. They like to perch on a log with it, using the log as a sort of cutting board, and then hammer away.
They
love dog food and cat food. When we feed the dogs a hole flock of
them come and roost only yards away, squawking and fighting and
waiting for a plate to be unguarded. They can be quite obnoxious.
Range of the Western scrub-jay
The western scrub jay is found in most of California except the southern desert, the lower central valley, and the higher elevations of the Sierras.
When
I was in 4th grade I wrote a report on the western
scrub-jay. The title was something like “why we shouldn't
hate the scrub jay”. Most of the kids in my class had no
idea what a scrub jay was let alone why they should or should not
hate it. I was supposed to write on something that was
controversial and play the devil's advocate. To me this was a big
deal they squawked at me all the time and even had the audacity
to squawk at my cat. They were sneaky and sometimes down right
mean to other birds. Needles to say my teacher wasn't much of an
outdoors person and I didn't get such a great grade. So please
excuse the cynicism.
How to attract the Western scrub-jay to your garden.
Why you would want to do such a thing, I can't possibly imagine. But for consistency I'll provide the needed information. The western scrub-jay enjoys oaks and scrub land but they also like town life. A pretty sure bet for attracting the western scrub Jay to your garden is oaks, Quercus lobata, Q. agrifolia, Q. douglasii, etc. Their favorite foods are acorns and they also enjoy eating the other birds and wildlife attracted by an oak tree. For more information on oaks see our oak page. For all the scrub jay's bad manners, they are actually very good at distributing and planting acorns. Which is good for a forest, but depending on your need for oaks may of may not be a good thing.
Habitat/plant community used by the Western scrub-jay
The
Western Scrub-Jay likes brushy areas with nearby trees,
especially oaks.
The Western Scrub jay is also very fond of Toyon berries. The Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia, is a lovely evergreen shrub with bright red berries. It is also called holly berry, for this reason. Many other birds also like it
The
Western Scrub Jay will also come to the bird
bath. (Although they tend to scare the other birds away.)
Migration of the Western scrub-jay
The western-scrub jay doesn't migrate. However, they do move up hill after breeding.
Nesting habitats used by the Western scrub-jay
The western scrub-jay nests in the dense foliage of a large bush or small tree, usually situated near water.