The Other Blue Birds
A pinyon jay comes in for a landing.
If you have never seen a pinyon jay, it is easy to understand why you might mistake it for a large bluebird, as many people do. Besides the differences in appearance that become apparent as you look more closely, the other give-aways that indicate this is a jay and not a thrush, as is the bluebird, are the fact that pinyon jays almost always travel in groups of ten to a hundred and they are incredibly vocal as they do so.
A flock of pinyon jays hanging out in a limber pine.
On our place, pinyon jays hang out year round. The amazing thing about that is that many people that live in the area have never seen one, primarily because the jays stick to a narrow band of elevation where limber pine trees grow.
Because the pinyons are here year round, their presence overlaps with that of the smaller mountain bluebirds which arrive in early March and hang around until September or so before heading south for the winter.
A pinyon jay carries off his favorite source of food.
Pinyon jays are omnivores and they are regular visitors at the suet and seed feeders in the winter months. But their reason for being here is the availability of their favorite food - pine nuts. When the cones mature in mid-summer, the Clarks nutcrackers and pinyon jays fill the branches of the limber pine trees and do their best to out compete each other in their quest for the calorie and protein rich seeds.
A variety of bird species compete for a turn at the suet feeder on cold days.
We rarely see other jays on our property although both Stellar’s jays and gray jays are easy to find a little higher up in the mountains where the land is more heavily treed.
Stellar’s jays are striking birds with their bold coloring and prominent crests.
Although red and yellow are actual pigments you can find in the feathers of birds, all blue colored birds rely on light waves to create the hues. For that reason, a pinyon jay may appear grayish one day and ultramarine another day.
A very blue looking pinyon jay has the light waves on that day to thank for his intense color.
To hear more about pinyon jays, be sure to listen to my podcast on the subject by clicking the button below, or by downloading the latest episode from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.