I love Steller's jays, thank you! They're such rascals. Though I first knew blue jays, being from New Hampshire, I spent 40 years in western Washington state where they're as common as crows. I've got too many funny stories to share here! One thing I saw, though, were a pair of parents encouraging their fledging to exercise its wings. One was at the top of the house I lived next to, and the other on a branch. They took turns calling to the baby so it would have to fly back and forth, lol. They make incredible parents, like all corvids seem to. I live "back east" again in Ohio and have been loving the blue jays once again, when I can see them. They and the crows hang out down the road from me, at the Great Miami River that I live near to.
We really enjoyed their antics-there were quite a few until out-of-control development flattened enough trees in our neighborhood to drive them out. We got used to hearing their calls that we thought of as "the rusty push-mower." That, and watching them carefully deciding among which peanuts to pick up. "This one? (picks it up) Nope. (drops it) How about this one? (picks it up) Nope. (drops it)" That'd go on for quite a while, with the jay often picking up the first one he'd rejected and flying off with it. The cream of the crop sighting was the day five or six of them landed on our deck and proceeded to play leap-frog. I don't know how else to describe it. There was no food on the deck. They were repeatedly jumping over the top of each other and hopping around all over the place. I don't know what to conclude except that it sure looked like playing for playing's sake. A couple of them learned that pecking at a glass skylight would signal "time for you to give me a peanut"-and it worked. We'd get up and toss a few peanuts outside every time. They even taught that trick to the next generation. We sure miss 'em.
I feed Steller's Jays at my home in Colorado and I have observed similar behavior with peanuts. My guess is that they are trying to find the heaviest one.
@@lovepet4565 I'm entirely cynical about my "woke" city's supposed commitment to "reducing carbon footprint." They're content to have lots of trees removed for development, having apparently forgotten that trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and put oxygen back into it. Further, despite all the fol-de-rol in campaign speeches about reducing carbon footprint: How could heavily increased urban density _not_ increase carbon output? The whole business would be laughable if it weren't pernicious and dishonest. Lots of lying going on.
What’s really funny is watching one who can’t decide which peanut to take try to take them all. Cramming their beaks with peanuts and dropping them, getting frustrated over it. XD Meanwhile other jays and squirrels are swooping in and running off with individual peanuts while this poor goof tries to run off with the whole thing.
I did an illustration of Steller’s Jays for an article on sub-species differences and really enjoyed learning more about them. Here in western Oregon, we get the Coastal sub-species. In addition to the differences in coloration and marking, there are also strong differences in crest length between the sub-species. Such cool birds! I never tire of seeing or hearing them! 💙 Thanks for another great video, Lesley! With gratitude, Tara Kate
Here in Seattle, I'm lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a roving gang of Stellers every morning when they bang on my screen door demanding peanuts and any loose change I might have on me. They're super hyper and noisy, and they make your Blue Jays seem like librarians in comparison. My favorite sound they make sounds like a cartoon horse. I've been trying to get them to land on my hand like the way you do, but so far it just gets them more and more agitated until I just give up and throw a bunch of peanuts into the yard and they screech like maniacs while they battle for the best peanut; they always have to do some sophisticated A/B weight testing before the decide which one to take, and it's total chaos while a bunch of them are doing this at once, and they also seem to be able to scream their lungs out whilst still holding a big peanut in their mouth.
@MiFi My feeder isn't as active this year, I only put in about a quart of black oil seeds in every other day, and their doesn't seem to be as many bird's around. Lesley the Bird Nerd said that their was a disease killing the birds this past summer and to keep your feeders clean. I don't know if any of my neighbors have feeders either. Maybe when the whether turns colder, and the seed harvest is done, they will return. But I keep all of my bird's happy with peanuts that I put out on my small deck table. I have to shell them for the little chickadees.
Their ability at mimicry is astounding. Sounds just like the red-tailed hawk. Where I live is supposed to be within their range so I'm going to start keeping my eyes out for them.
One time, as I ran out to our barn, I saw every cat making haste back to the house, as if fleeing a fire. Curious, I looked around the corner, and saw about twenty or thirty little Steller Jays feasting on cat food, screaming, and generally having a grand old time. Ever since, I’ve loved them. I did giggle when I saw you call a mountain jay a “Canadian jay”. I don’t know anyone who calls them that, and I live in Manitoba. My uncle called them “whiskeyjacks”, and sometimes the older folks will call them “grey jays”.
I'm a Colorado native, as was my Mom. she always called Gray Jay/Canada Jays "Camp Robbers". It's a name that suits them. I have run across some in heavily used campgrounds that would steal food right off your plate if you looked away from it for a few seconds. Steller's Jays in Colorado are usually not quite that bold.
Their official English name was changed in 2018 to Canada jay from gray jay. I know some folks who affectionately call them camp robbers too, a very fitting name indeed!
We have Steller’s Jays here in Eugene, Oregon. Over the 20 years we have lived here, my husband befriended several of them, hand feeding them peanuts and teaching them tricks like tapping on the kitchen window to ask for peanuts. Several generations of them have taught their chicks to come to our yard and tap on the window. My husband was an artist, and trained his favorite Steller’s Jay, who he called Blue Brow, to pose on a certain twig outside the studio so he could paint the bird’s portrait. Their mimicry is very charming. Sometimes I’ll put some peanuts on the deck for them, and they will make the Red Tailed Hawk cry to scare away other birds. They have also learned to mimic the squeak of the kitchen door. They’re such personalities, and it has been a pleasure to have them as neighbors.
Beautiful bird and as always an excellent video, Lesley! Steller must have been a fortunate man indeed, to be one of the first of those discovering birds from a scientific perspective in an as yet unspoilt wilderness. The majestic Steller's Sea Eagle and gorgeous Steller's Eider are also named after him.
Thank you again Lesley. As I believe that I have said to you before; I have low vision, and by the time that I can focus on the birds, very often but not always, they are gone, so I very much appreciate your videos.
Also, the Steller’s Sea Eagle (which is a lovely eagle, BTW). Their range is mostly in Russia and Japan (and I think Alaska, too), but I saw one at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last year.
I have always thought that they looked like a mix between a crow and a Blue Jay with a darker blue plumage, too. I’m glad there is someone out there that concurs. 🙂
Photos don’t do them justice. Their plumage sparkles in the sun, almost like they’ve got tiny sapphires embedded in their feathers. It’s shockingly blue in the right light, almost doesn’t look natural.
Great video, especially loved the footage of the hawk imitation call. We are so fortunate to have these jays here on the west coast and hear their very unique calls.
I see many of them in our property here in suburban Vancouver. They have become so tame they even flew to me for peanuts after I named some of them, coming when I called their name. I live in a Condo so I had to stop giving them food, as they would bury the nuts in other resident’s planters and dig up their plants to retrieve them. Beautiful birds though!
I used to work in Yosemite. We got a meal card that was good at the tourist cafeterias. In the summer I'd eat my breakfast outside on the patio. Some days yellow jackets would swarm my bacon. I'd flick one with my spoon and it would land on the ground dazed and spinning circles. A friendly Steller's Jay would swoop down out of a nearby pine tree, gobble up the yellow jacket, and then fly back up to his branch about 15 feet up and overhanging the patio. One by one the two of us would work as a team to clear out the yellow jackets. That Steller's Jay was a worldwide celebrity. Every morning there would anywhere from 2 to a dozen or more tourists taking pics of him gobbling up yellow jackets. Those mornings always put a smile on my face.
Yaaay! I like Steller’s Jays and hate yellow jackets -y j are just pure mean!! I used to feed a Steller’s Jay peanuts in the shell. If I didn’t wake up early enough for his liking, he found out where I slept and he’d knock on my window! “Wake up, you dozy chick! It’s peanut o’clock!” 😹😹😹 ✌🏼💖
@@YvetteArby That's funny he'd tap on your window. Yellow jackets are all over the Sierras. When we'd go camping, to keep them from swarming our campsite, I'd stick a slice of bacon to a tree about 100-150 feet away. The yellow jackets would swarm the slice of bacon instead and the only time we'd see one is when it was making a beeline through our camp to get to the bacon. In 2-3 days they'd devour the slice of bacon. It always amazed me how quick the little guys could go through a slice of raw bacon.
@@YvetteArby If you're ever out camping and get bothered by yellow jackets, take a slice of raw bacon and stick it to a tree about 100 feet from your campsite. The yellow jackets will swarm the bacon and leave your campsite alone. Be careful because the little guys will devour the slice of bacon in a couple of days and you'll need to hang up another one.
@@LuckyBaldwin777 I like the idea of “feeding them” to the Jays much better than feeding THEM! We’re in Georgia where Yellow Jackets are a total menace. (I don’t mean the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, of course.) I wish our birds weren’t so well fed here in the Southeast, because I would love to see a bunch of Blue Jays wipe out every one of them. Loved your story. My husband and I fell in love with Steller’s Jays the first time we went to New Mexico, in 1983, and always look forward to seeing them on our next trip. Fine critters!
I think the birds are watching us when we put out food a lot more than we might realize. I might not see the birds, but I feel their eyes are on me when I put out food for them. In some cases, I think some birds come to the tree where I put some of my feeders when they think I am not there, to the point where I am almost close enough to hand-feed them or touch them. I experience this a lot with the Chickadees.
@@BirdsandGhibliFan lol chickadees are the boldest birds considering their size. They don’t give a rip about people near their feeders. I’ve been re-filling feeders before and the chickadees never budged.
What gorgeous colours in their plumage. Very interesting video, as always. I loved the picture of the Canada Jay! It has quite a short break unless that was a baby? It was very cute. Being in UK I shall probably never see any of these Jays so I am especially grateful for these beautiful images and the narrative info.
Yep. I think the Canada Jay, including the adults have a shorter beak than the other Jays. I agree that it does give them more of a cute look, along with the beady eyes and puffy cheeks. 🥰
They are visually impressive and interesting birds, but around feeders and camps they establish dominance with that 90+ db staccato noise over other species and jays for hours.
One of my Parrots calls the Jays with a spot on imitation of their most abrasive call - but exponentially louder. Imagine a Steller's Jay with a megaphone...or not lol.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area I think of Scrub Jays as the "in-town" jay, and Steller's Jays as the "just outside of town" jay. We just don't have enough trees in town for the Steller's, with a few exceptions along creeks - seeing them at those spots is always pretty exciting. They're so striking! Of course, once you head into the Sierras for some camping, Steller's Jays practically own the place. I'm glad they have a lot in common with Blue Jays because it helps me understand a lot of your Blue Jay content. I've never seen one in real life.
I live on the East Coast, but saw a Steller’s Jay while visiting California coastal redwoods in 2009. I will never forget this lovely bird! Thanks, Lesley!
Awesome. Thanks. I grew up with magpies and crows, but these birds are way more fun. Since moving out to the PACNW, I have the good fortune of having a family in our yard. Their 2nd generation has accepted us and our peanut-handouts, and they are a blast. They mimic a cat if they see a cat, and they mimic a hawk likewise.
Go up to a higher elevation lake in So.Ore. and they line up in front of your cabin. You get more than a glimpse. I've eaten lunch in a favorite mountain cafe with these guys looking in the window.. Up by the register, they sell jay and chipmonk food. Yes, you would enjoy them.
On a recent roadtrip, I stopped by Bijoux Falls Prov Park in BC where there were dozens of these Jays watching the day-use area. Not as daring as the Grey Jay, but pretty close.
💙🖤💙💙💙🖤💙💙 Truely Beautiful Birds🐦!!~*Great coverage of these lovely feathered friends❤!!~* We do not have them here in Pennsylvania either!! Most intresting is they and our Eastern Blue Jay are interbreeding, Wow!!~*
Didn't know they were called a band of stellers jays. They do seem to work in a group and alert each other for food or prey animals. But they don't seem aggressive and even let the European starling push them around. Just my observations from the backyard.
It sounds as though you never get to travel to meet these birds out of your area? I'll bet if you did want to travel, a zillion fans would be ready to put you up and take you out birding.
I live in south central AK. and there is a breeding pair that hang out in my area every summer the past ten years or so. If I neglect to clean out the rain gutters they'll do their best to help me by throwing the moss and dirt on the sidewalk while looking for insects. I must do better with giving unsalted peanuts. I see the magpies a lot more than the Steller Jay's. Great video Lesley.
Ah, I miss seeing Steller's jays. My last field season on the Oregon Coast Range involved a lot of sitting in one spot in order to survey for an endangered seabird call a marbled murrelet. I would often hear and watch Steller's jays, and at one site there was a jay who had a passable imitation of a red-tailed hawk call. One of my close friends lives near Seattle and has made friends with a pair of Steller's who come to feed on the nuts she and her husband buys for them.
Thanks for the great video! Stellar's Jays are some of my faves, I feed a mated pair in my backyard, as does my buddy across town. He told me that if I put out unshelled peanuts they will come and stash them and if the supply is out they will learn to come to the window and tap on the outside to get more. Sure enough, within a month of starting to do this I got 'the knock'. I'm pleased that you were able to video the mimics of red tailed hawks and crows, a fellow naturalist and I were trying to find a red tailed hawk in the marsh that would call out and wasn't visible in the trees, only to be found a month or so later to be a Stellar's Jay in the conifer next to us. It looked either embarrassed to have been found out or amused, take it as you will.
Очень умные и красивые птицы.Дочь установила несколько кормушек .Когда хорошая погода они прилетают.А летом они прилетели со своими птенцами ,мы угощали их вареными яйцами.
Yep, a few include Mountian chickadee and Black-capped Chickadee, Black-capped chickadee and Carolina hybrids, Dark-eyed Junco and White-throated sparrow hybrids
@@monicaperez2843 Also, there have been hybrids of the Northern Cardinal and the Pyrrhuloxia (a.k.a. the desert cardinal), and I think there are hybrids between the Northern Flicker subspecies as well.
We called the Canada Jay the Grey Jay. But you can have them!! They tried to intimidate me into dropping my candy bar! When I went back into my car, they perched on my car’s hood and glared at me through the windshield!! 🙀🙀🙀 That was in Washington, on the North Cascades loop, at a look out spot. P.S. -Why is it that Canadian people are nice but your birds (Canada Goose, Canada Jay) are mean?? 😹✌🏼💖
In my experience, I found that Steller's jays are less shy around humans than blue jays. Also, when I see blue jays, they tend to be one or two, but Steller's jays are more likely to be observed in groups. I've also noticed that, on Vancouver Island and B.C.'s Lower Mainland, most people mistakenly call Steller's jays "blue jays". This kind of makes sense, as there are no true blue jays in the area, and Stellers are the only jays in the area that are blue, so mentioning, "Steller's jays" to locals might lead to some confusion.
Hi Leslie! Where I live in Northern California we have a good population of Steller’s here. I have quite a few that stop by every morning for their unsalted peanuts in the shell which they really enjoy! I first knew of them as a child when my Mom referred to them as “Camp Robbers” at our family picnics. And Leslie I envy you your beautiful Eastern Jay!
Thank you for the video! When I lived in Medford, OR on the Valley floor, about six years ago a flock over-wintered. They emptied the feeders. Very interesting and beautiful birds! They're huge compared with other jays and incredibly loud. In spring they left, never to return. Now living in the Portland area, I've run into flocks along the Springwater Trail in Gresham. Distinctive call and extremely argumentative birds! I expect they'll move on, but may over-winter here because of the abundance of food in the area.
So excited to see your video about Steller’s Jay. 👏 I saw one for the first time today during my morning hike in a local park. 😀 Very happy to learn more about them from you. Thank you Leslie 🥰🤗
This bird is the inspiration for the design of the Pokemon Corvisquire. If you take a look at it, you'll see it's unmistakably a Steller's Jay, but as a Pokemon.
They are so expressive, with the head cocking and the crest bobbing about indicating mood, or maybe just getting a better look. and the different eyebrows on coastal and interior versions. They can be a bit intimidating to some of the smaller birds visiting the feeders here, but I've also seen them being chased through the trees by feisty hummingbirds. They always seem to be up to some drama though. I had one visit my campsite and boldly break into my hazelnuts in seconds, it also discovered it could fit not 1 but 3 cheerios in it's beak at once. So greedy.
Thanks for the wonderful video! I never had the pleasure of seeing a Steller's Jay, but I hope to some time. They remind me a lot of Blue Jays, also. I wonder who would dominate whom at a bird feeder. I never knew there were so many subspecies of Steller's Jays. Very informative and professional video :-)
These beautiful fellas have to be one of my favorite birds so it's great to see a video spreading the love for them! A pair took up residence in my backyard a few months back and now I see them almost every day but it never gets old. I didn't know about all the subspecies tho, very cool. I wonder which mine are cause their call is noticibly different from the one in the vid, theirs is a distinct screachy cawing sound that makes it very obvious when they're close by, or like a mile a way, it's not exactly subtle haha
Lesley -Steller’s Jays have never dive bombed me, a behavior that I have heard is very common for Blue Jays. Also, they are very smart! I used to feed one peanuts in the shell. If I wasn’t up early enough, it found out where my bedroom was and he’d knock on my window as if to say, “Wake up, you dozy chick! It’s peanut o’clock!” 😹😹😹 And yes, he did an amazing mimicry of the red tailed hawk, which is a common bird in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. He certainly fooled me! I also had suet out for him, and I’d put black sunflower seeds into it. He had to share with the woodpeckers (downy & hairy woodpeckers, flickers, and pileated woodpeckers) though. ✌🏼💖
I find listening to your commentary enhances watching the birds you present to us. And when I get wearied by Political or Religious debate, I turn to videos of nature to find a sense of inner peace. Thank you.
i have heard the steller's jays in our area do red-tailed hawk imitations that are even better than the one in the video. but they always cut it off short. maybe they don't have the lung capacity for longer calls. but one thing i have seen around here is steller's jays raiding other birds' nests. i have seen this happen with dark-eyed juncos and other birds. in spite of this behavior, i still like the birds. thanks for some great photos and video!
They live here where I am in B.C. and I once saw them in the same tree as bluejays when going for a walk. It startled me when I noticed them all looking at me. Birders with out of date information have told me they do not coexist with bluejays, but unfortunately I didn't have a camera or phone with me. This video amazes me because I did not know about their talented mimicry. When I hear them, they tend to always make their standard squawky sound, while the bluejays near me often switch their voices to completely different sounds continually in a short time period. Thanks Lesley!
If they are anything like the Blue Jays here in NW North Carolina or the Scub Jays in Southern California, if you become friends with them they get really bossy. The North Carolina Wren is the same.
Another fabulously interesting video, Lesley! I find the inter-breeding the most fascinating and like you would love to see the birds. Living in ME I only see Blue Jays, and some day I'd love to see these gorgeous Steller's Jays! Thank you so much, Lesley:)
Mimicking is definitely something I didn't know about the Steller Jays. Or cross breeding. Wish we had more of them in my part of the state. Western Wyoming has a lot of them. I'm in Northern Central Wyoming. Thank you to everyone who provided pictures and videos of this beautiful bird. And you too Leslie for making a video about them! 💙🖤💙🖤
I've never heard of them before, but they do resemble my favorite, the Blue Jay, in a lot of ways, so I hope one might visit me sometime so I can see for myself!
I can tell you who finds these videos interesting: MY CAT! 😂 I started watching with my cat Jack, and it's a hit with him. I also love these videos. Always enjoy learning about birds.
I saw a Steller's Jay in my backyard here in California a couple weeks ago, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Apparently, a sighting is rare where I live. I've been dying to see another ever since.
Thank you for featuring these beautiful birds! I have a “party” of Steller’s Jays every morning who love peanuts in the shell! I absolutely love their “eyebrows”! They mimic my large flock of crows! 💖
In my area (west coast Canada) Stellers were always referred to as blue jays. I was recently surprised the see a true whiter coloured blue jay which don’t exist up here. I always loved watching our local Stellers Jays doing their thing with their beautiful blue on black plumage. I would love to see a true (white) blue jay some day.
We always called em blue jays too down here in Southern California. Always confused me as a child because I would see blue jays in like books and nature maGazines and wonder why they didn’t look the same as our blue jays. XD
I am most familiar with bluejays, as I am in Ontario. But the Steller's Jays I've seen in northern B.C. were on a par with Canada Jays for friendliness and complete lack of shyness around people. They are amazing in full sun, though I never was able to get a good picture of the iridescence. Thanks for a lovely video!
Cool birds! I'm on the East Coast US, so I don't see them either. I was surprised to learn how widespread they are! I also thought the last video clip of a jay getting the peanut on the string was pretty amazing...nice flying skills! Thanks for another terrific and informative video!😊
they can do a barrel roll and time it so they pass between the vertical posts on the deck rails without a pause or hiccup and make it look so easy as to be routine
Yay im second, and amazing video i love your channel, im a young birder in Ontario and i saw my first White Breasted Nuthatch yesterday, keep up the good work! :D
I love Steller's jays, thank you! They're such rascals. Though I first knew blue jays, being from New Hampshire, I spent 40 years in western Washington state where they're as common as crows. I've got too many funny stories to share here! One thing I saw, though, were a pair of parents encouraging their fledging to exercise its wings. One was at the top of the house I lived next to, and the other on a branch. They took turns calling to the baby so it would have to fly back and forth, lol. They make incredible parents, like all corvids seem to. I live "back east" again in Ohio and have been loving the blue jays once again, when I can see them. They and the crows hang out down the road from me, at the Great Miami River that I live near to.
We really enjoyed their antics-there were quite a few until out-of-control development flattened enough trees in our neighborhood to drive them out. We got used to hearing their calls that we thought of as "the rusty push-mower." That, and watching them carefully deciding among which peanuts to pick up. "This one? (picks it up) Nope. (drops it) How about this one? (picks it up) Nope. (drops it)" That'd go on for quite a while, with the jay often picking up the first one he'd rejected and flying off with it. The cream of the crop sighting was the day five or six of them landed on our deck and proceeded to play leap-frog. I don't know how else to describe it. There was no food on the deck. They were repeatedly jumping over the top of each other and hopping around all over the place. I don't know what to conclude except that it sure looked like playing for playing's sake.
A couple of them learned that pecking at a glass skylight would signal "time for you to give me a peanut"-and it worked. We'd get up and toss a few peanuts outside every time. They even taught that trick to the next generation. We sure miss 'em.
That's an awesome story about them. I would love to have some at my place.
We have awful developers tearing out 100 yr plus coastal Live Oaks to out in cheap duplexes
No laws exist on our Island
Its a travesty
I feed Steller's Jays at my home in Colorado and I have observed similar behavior with peanuts. My guess is that they are trying to find the heaviest one.
@@lovepet4565 I'm entirely cynical about my "woke" city's supposed commitment to "reducing carbon footprint." They're content to have lots of trees removed for development, having apparently forgotten that trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and put oxygen back into it. Further, despite all the fol-de-rol in campaign speeches about reducing carbon footprint: How could heavily increased urban density _not_ increase carbon output? The whole business would be laughable if it weren't pernicious and dishonest. Lots of lying going on.
What’s really funny is watching one who can’t decide which peanut to take try to take them all. Cramming their beaks with peanuts and dropping them, getting frustrated over it. XD Meanwhile other jays and squirrels are swooping in and running off with individual peanuts while this poor goof tries to run off with the whole thing.
I did an illustration of Steller’s Jays for an article on sub-species differences and really enjoyed learning more about them. Here in western Oregon, we get the Coastal sub-species. In addition to the differences in coloration and marking, there are also strong differences in crest length between the sub-species. Such cool birds! I never tire of seeing or hearing them! 💙 Thanks for another great video, Lesley! With gratitude, Tara Kate
Have you ever seen any of the hybrids?
Aww, how wonderful and thanks for sharing that bit of info on the difference in appearance. Have a great Sunday Evening.
the stellar s Jay is beautiful 🥰🥰
yeah stellar jays 😊
I like name mountain Jay😊
Here in Seattle, I'm lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a roving gang of Stellers every morning when they bang on my screen door demanding peanuts and any loose change I might have on me. They're super hyper and noisy, and they make your Blue Jays seem like librarians in comparison. My favorite sound they make sounds like a cartoon horse. I've been trying to get them to land on my hand like the way you do, but so far it just gets them more and more agitated until I just give up and throw a bunch of peanuts into the yard and they screech like maniacs while they battle for the best peanut; they always have to do some sophisticated A/B weight testing before the decide which one to take, and it's total chaos while a bunch of them are doing this at once, and they also seem to be able to scream their lungs out whilst still holding a big peanut in their mouth.
They've learned to raise heck outside my bedroom window if I sleep in too late. Hi from Olympia!
That sounds like the flocks we have over on the East side in Bellevue.
Send some over to Sand Lake Michigan 👍, about 25 miles north of Grand Rapids. I just have the Blue Jay's, but they are pretty 😎 cool.
@MiFi Stanwood, ? In which State there is a Morley Stanwood, in Michigan just south of Big Rapids
@MiFi My feeder isn't as active this year, I only put in about a quart of black oil seeds in every other day, and their doesn't seem to be as many bird's around. Lesley the Bird Nerd said that their was a disease killing the birds this past summer and to keep your feeders clean. I don't know if any of my neighbors have feeders either. Maybe when the whether turns colder, and the seed harvest is done, they will return. But I keep all of my bird's happy with peanuts that I put out on my small deck table. I have to shell them for the little chickadees.
Their ability at mimicry is astounding. Sounds just like the red-tailed hawk. Where I live is supposed to be within their range so I'm going to start keeping my eyes out for them.
They are such cool birds. Here in western Oregon, they show up in town more often during the fall and winter. Hope you’ll see some soon!
We dont get them here in the CA central valley, we get Scrub Jays though.
Yeah I don't have them much in my part of Wyoming but the western part has a lot of them. Beautiful bird!
Yes! One of my neighborhood jays is an excellent mimic and can sound like a hawk, crow, and seagull.
You'll probably hear them before you see them - they're quite vocal!
Great…now you’ve added another bird I need to find! But that’s okay
I've seen them while hiking in the Rockies, and heard their mimicry. They're a very cool bird to spot.
One time, as I ran out to our barn, I saw every cat making haste back to the house, as if fleeing a fire. Curious, I looked around the corner, and saw about twenty or thirty little Steller Jays feasting on cat food, screaming, and generally having a grand old time.
Ever since, I’ve loved them.
I did giggle when I saw you call a mountain jay a “Canadian jay”. I don’t know anyone who calls them that, and I live in Manitoba. My uncle called them “whiskeyjacks”, and sometimes the older folks will call them “grey jays”.
I'm a Colorado native, as was my Mom. she always called Gray Jay/Canada Jays "Camp Robbers". It's a name that suits them. I have run across some in heavily used campgrounds that would steal food right off your plate if you looked away from it for a few seconds.
Steller's Jays in Colorado are usually not quite that bold.
Their official English name was changed in 2018 to Canada jay from gray jay. I know some folks who affectionately call them camp robbers too, a very fitting name indeed!
@@birdiekay686 they don’t need to rob from me, I will give them whatever they want, lol, I just love them.
We have Steller’s Jays here in Eugene, Oregon. Over the 20 years we have lived here, my husband befriended several of them, hand feeding them peanuts and teaching them tricks like tapping on the kitchen window to ask for peanuts. Several generations of them have taught their chicks to come to our yard and tap on the window. My husband was an artist, and trained his favorite Steller’s Jay, who he called Blue Brow, to pose on a certain twig outside the studio so he could paint the bird’s portrait. Their mimicry is very charming. Sometimes I’ll put some peanuts on the deck for them, and they will make the Red Tailed Hawk cry to scare away other birds. They have also learned to mimic the squeak of the kitchen door. They’re such personalities, and it has been a pleasure to have them as neighbors.
Great comments & stories about your husband and the Steller’s Jay / Mountain Jay. Thank you Jae McDonald.
I grew up around these birds, and I honestly don’t know anybody who dislikes them.
The Bluejay looks like a the luxury Jay where the Stellers looks like the sport option. 💙
LOL
Scrub jays are the cheap sedan you got for $2k on marketplace
Beautiful birds. I wish they were on the East Coast.
Seriously, what type of person would thumbs down any of the videos on this channel? What is wrong that this happens? This is wonderful ❤️
I loved seeing the offspring from the blue jay with the Steller’s jay. So cool. Thanks for this video♥️. Gorgeous bird!
Terrific video Lesley - thank you for including some of my film too 🥰🙏💙
Thank you! I really enjoyed seeing it.
Oh wow how nice thank you
Beautiful bird and as always an excellent video, Lesley! Steller must have been a fortunate man indeed, to be one of the first of those discovering birds from a scientific perspective in an as yet unspoilt wilderness. The majestic Steller's Sea Eagle and gorgeous Steller's Eider are also named after him.
Very cool bird! They are not in my area. So thanks for an informative video!!!!!!
Thank you again Lesley. As I believe that I have said to you before; I have low vision, and by the time that I can focus on the birds, very often but not always, they are gone, so I very much appreciate your videos.
Steller also named several other animals including Steller's sea cow.
Also, the Steller’s Sea Eagle (which is a lovely eagle, BTW). Their range is mostly in Russia and Japan (and I think Alaska, too), but I saw one at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last year.
Hey I left a comment about one yesterday :) I haven't seen many of them but I think they're so pretty.
I'd love to see Steller Jays, they're stunning ! They look like a cross between a crow and a blue jay
They are awesome.
(I'll give these guys some scraps for you.)
I have always thought that they looked like a mix between a crow and a Blue Jay with a darker blue plumage, too. I’m glad there is someone out there that concurs. 🙂
Photos don’t do them justice. Their plumage sparkles in the sun, almost like they’ve got tiny sapphires embedded in their feathers. It’s shockingly blue in the right light, almost doesn’t look natural.
When I’ve first seen this bird it, quickly become one of my favorites.
I know there so beautiful and curious, i've never seen one before but i love them
No stellar jays in my area, but they visit an eagles nest I watch online. Enjoyed learning about the stellar jay.
Great video, especially loved the footage of the hawk imitation call. We are so fortunate to have these jays here on the west coast and hear their very unique calls.
I see many of them in our property here in suburban Vancouver. They have become so tame they even flew to me for peanuts after I named some of them, coming when I called their name. I live in a Condo so I had to stop giving them food, as they would bury the nuts in other resident’s planters and dig up their plants to retrieve them. Beautiful birds though!
I have been lucky enough to have them as regular guests at my feeder for years, They are fantastic!
They are so beautiful!❤️
Another beautiful bird brought to us by a wonderful creator!!!!!! Fun watching them take a bird bath. Thank you!!
I would also like to see some of the hybrids in real life!
I was so fascinated at the hybrid types! So beautiful! Thanks for sharing as always! 🥰
I used to work in Yosemite. We got a meal card that was good at the tourist cafeterias. In the summer I'd eat my breakfast outside on the patio. Some days yellow jackets would swarm my bacon. I'd flick one with my spoon and it would land on the ground dazed and spinning circles. A friendly Steller's Jay would swoop down out of a nearby pine tree, gobble up the yellow jacket, and then fly back up to his branch about 15 feet up and overhanging the patio. One by one the two of us would work as a team to clear out the yellow jackets. That Steller's Jay was a worldwide celebrity. Every morning there would anywhere from 2 to a dozen or more tourists taking pics of him gobbling up yellow jackets. Those mornings always put a smile on my face.
Yaaay! I like Steller’s Jays and hate yellow jackets -y j are just pure mean!! I used to feed a Steller’s Jay peanuts in the shell. If I didn’t wake up early enough for his liking, he found out where I slept and he’d knock on my window! “Wake up, you dozy chick! It’s peanut o’clock!” 😹😹😹 ✌🏼💖
@@YvetteArby That's funny he'd tap on your window. Yellow jackets are all over the Sierras. When we'd go camping, to keep them from swarming our campsite, I'd stick a slice of bacon to a tree about 100-150 feet away. The yellow jackets would swarm the slice of bacon instead and the only time we'd see one is when it was making a beeline through our camp to get to the bacon. In 2-3 days they'd devour the slice of bacon. It always amazed me how quick the little guys could go through a slice of raw bacon.
@@LuckyBaldwin777 Wow! That’s a great idea to keep them away!! I’ll have to remember that trick! ✌🏼💖
@@YvetteArby If you're ever out camping and get bothered by yellow jackets, take a slice of raw bacon and stick it to a tree about 100 feet from your campsite. The yellow jackets will swarm the bacon and leave your campsite alone. Be careful because the little guys will devour the slice of bacon in a couple of days and you'll need to hang up another one.
@@LuckyBaldwin777 I like the idea of “feeding them” to the Jays much better than feeding THEM! We’re in Georgia where Yellow Jackets are a total menace. (I don’t mean the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, of course.) I wish our birds weren’t so well fed here in the Southeast, because I would love to see a bunch of Blue Jays wipe out every one of them. Loved your story. My husband and I fell in love with Steller’s Jays the first time we went to New Mexico, in 1983, and always look forward to seeing them on our next trip. Fine critters!
Those hybrid birds were SO pretty!
Yes!
Well done Ma'am!! I had never heard of the Steller Jay!! Absolutely beautiful bird!!
I don't see them, until I put out peanuts, they show up almost instantly. Like, how do they know?
I think the birds are watching us when we put out food a lot more than we might realize. I might not see the birds, but I feel their eyes are on me when I put out food for them. In some cases, I think some birds come to the tree where I put some of my feeders when they think I am not there, to the point where I am almost close enough to hand-feed them or touch them. I experience this a lot with the Chickadees.
@@BirdsandGhibliFan lol chickadees are the boldest birds considering their size. They don’t give a rip about people near their feeders. I’ve been re-filling feeders before and the chickadees never budged.
What gorgeous colours in their plumage. Very interesting video, as always. I loved the picture of the Canada Jay! It has quite a short break unless that was a baby? It was very cute. Being in UK I shall probably never see any of these Jays so I am especially grateful for these beautiful images and the narrative info.
Yep. I think the Canada Jay, including the adults have a shorter beak than the other Jays. I agree that it does give them more of a cute look, along with the beady eyes and puffy cheeks. 🥰
Wow! I had no idea that Jays were so good at mimicking other birds' cries. I could have been fooled by that red-tailed hawk call.
They are visually impressive and interesting birds, but around feeders and camps they establish dominance with that 90+ db staccato noise over other species and jays for hours.
One of my Parrots calls the Jays with a spot on imitation of their most abrasive call - but exponentially louder. Imagine a Steller's Jay with a megaphone...or not lol.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area I think of Scrub Jays as the "in-town" jay, and Steller's Jays as the "just outside of town" jay. We just don't have enough trees in town for the Steller's, with a few exceptions along creeks - seeing them at those spots is always pretty exciting. They're so striking! Of course, once you head into the Sierras for some camping, Steller's Jays practically own the place.
I'm glad they have a lot in common with Blue Jays because it helps me understand a lot of your Blue Jay content. I've never seen one in real life.
Beautiful bird❤️😊my daughter has these birds at her home in Oakland California, close to San Francisco.
What a beautiful bird! 😍
I live on the East Coast, but saw a Steller’s Jay while visiting California coastal redwoods in 2009. I will never forget this lovely bird! Thanks, Lesley!
I was actually lucky enough to hand feed Steller's Jays up at Emerald Lake. Such beautiful birds.
Awesome. Thanks. I grew up with magpies and crows, but these birds are way more fun. Since moving out to the PACNW, I have the good fortune of having a family in our yard. Their 2nd generation has accepted us and our peanut-handouts, and they are a blast. They mimic a cat if they see a cat, and they mimic a hawk likewise.
Go up to a higher elevation lake in
So.Ore. and they line up in front of your cabin. You get more than a glimpse.
I've eaten lunch in a favorite mountain cafe
with these guys looking in the window..
Up by the register, they sell jay and chipmonk food.
Yes, you would enjoy them.
The picture of the four nestlings would made a great cover for a singing quartet's Christmas album.
On a recent roadtrip, I stopped by Bijoux Falls Prov Park in BC where there were dozens of these Jays watching the day-use area. Not as daring as the Grey Jay, but pretty close.
Love seeing these guys around Utah. They're the punk rockers of the corvids with their permanent mohawk and black background :3
Mimicking others birds, very cool. Especially love their plumage. 💙🐦
Awesome and beautiful .
💙🖤💙💙💙🖤💙💙
Truely Beautiful Birds🐦!!~*Great coverage of these lovely feathered friends❤!!~*
We do not have them here in Pennsylvania either!! Most intresting is they and our Eastern Blue Jay are interbreeding, Wow!!~*
Didn't know they were called a band of stellers jays. They do seem to work in a group and alert each other for food or prey animals. But they don't seem aggressive and even let the European starling push them around. Just my observations from the backyard.
Such a gorgeous bird ! Thanks for this great video Lesley !
8:50 peanut on a string, i am going to try that. i want to see if they pull it up by the string or as in the video fly-attack it.
I need to go out west one day and see one of these!! They are so beautiful, thank you Lesley!!!
It sounds as though you never get to travel to meet these birds out of your area? I'll bet if you did want to travel, a zillion fans would be ready to put you up and take you out birding.
If Lesley were to travel, who would feed her friends in Newfoundland? She’s got a regular circuit and I think those birds would miss her acutely.
@@moonbeamchaos I'm sure they would miss her, but they wouldn't starve.
I live in south central AK. and there is a breeding pair that hang out in my area every summer the past ten years or so. If I neglect to clean out the rain gutters they'll do their best to help me by throwing the moss and dirt on the sidewalk while looking for insects. I must do better with giving unsalted peanuts. I see the magpies a lot more than the Steller Jay's. Great video Lesley.
I love those hybrids you mentioned! I'd love to see them in person one day too. 💙
Ah, I miss seeing Steller's jays. My last field season on the Oregon Coast Range involved a lot of sitting in one spot in order to survey for an endangered seabird call a marbled murrelet. I would often hear and watch Steller's jays, and at one site there was a jay who had a passable imitation of a red-tailed hawk call. One of my close friends lives near Seattle and has made friends with a pair of Steller's who come to feed on the nuts she and her husband buys for them.
Thanks so much for introducing me to this beautiful Jay I didn’t even know existed. I learned something new today! You are great at what you do.
Thanks for the great video! Stellar's Jays are some of my faves, I feed a mated pair in my backyard, as does my buddy across town. He told me that if I put out unshelled peanuts they will come and stash them and if the supply is out they will learn to come to the window and tap on the outside to get more. Sure enough, within a month of starting to do this I got 'the knock'.
I'm pleased that you were able to video the mimics of red tailed hawks and crows, a fellow naturalist and I were trying to find a red tailed hawk in the marsh that would call out and wasn't visible in the trees, only to be found a month or so later to be a Stellar's Jay in the conifer next to us. It looked either embarrassed to have been found out or amused, take it as you will.
Another great one Nerd, keepem coming! 👍😃✌️
Очень умные и красивые птицы.Дочь установила несколько кормушек .Когда хорошая погода они прилетают.А летом они прилетели со своими птенцами ,мы угощали их вареными яйцами.
Was shocked there were hybrid versions of them. Are there hybrids of other wild songbirds?
Yep, a few include Mountian chickadee and Black-capped Chickadee, Black-capped chickadee and Carolina hybrids, Dark-eyed Junco and White-throated sparrow hybrids
@@LesleytheBirdNerd
WOW!
@@monicaperez2843 Also, there have been hybrids of the Northern Cardinal and the Pyrrhuloxia (a.k.a. the desert cardinal), and I think there are hybrids between the Northern Flicker subspecies as well.
@@LesleytheBirdNerd I've never hear stellar Jay mimicry 🤔
@@LesleytheBirdNerd I've never seen Steelers Jays
Amazing Les. I never knew this variant of the Jay's existed right here in the US. Great vid.
We called the Canada Jay the Grey Jay. But you can have them!! They tried to intimidate me into dropping my candy bar! When I went back into my car, they perched on my car’s hood and glared at me through the windshield!! 🙀🙀🙀 That was in Washington, on the North Cascades loop, at a look out spot.
P.S. -Why is it that Canadian people are nice but your birds (Canada Goose, Canada Jay) are mean?? 😹✌🏼💖
In my experience, I found that Steller's jays are less shy around humans than blue jays. Also, when I see blue jays, they tend to be one or two, but Steller's jays are more likely to be observed in groups.
I've also noticed that, on Vancouver Island and B.C.'s Lower Mainland, most people mistakenly call Steller's jays "blue jays". This kind of makes sense, as there are no true blue jays in the area, and Stellers are the only jays in the area that are blue, so mentioning, "Steller's jays" to locals might lead to some confusion.
Hi Leslie! Where I live in Northern California we have a good population of Steller’s here. I have quite a few that stop by every morning for their unsalted peanuts in the shell which they really enjoy! I first knew of them as a child when my Mom referred to them as “Camp Robbers” at our family picnics. And Leslie I envy you your beautiful Eastern Jay!
Thank you for the video! When I lived in Medford, OR on the Valley floor, about six years ago a flock over-wintered. They emptied the feeders. Very interesting and beautiful birds! They're huge compared with other jays and incredibly loud. In spring they left, never to return. Now living in the Portland area, I've run into flocks along the Springwater Trail in Gresham. Distinctive call and extremely argumentative birds! I expect they'll move on, but may over-winter here because of the abundance of food in the area.
So excited to see your video about Steller’s Jay. 👏 I saw one for the first time today during my morning hike in a local park. 😀 Very happy to learn more about them from you. Thank you Leslie 🥰🤗
This bird is the inspiration for the design of the Pokemon Corvisquire.
If you take a look at it, you'll see it's unmistakably a Steller's Jay, but as a Pokemon.
I can hear all the Steller's outside my window while watching this. such goofballs.
I have never seen one, as I've only lived in the Eastern part of the US. They look wonderful!
I've seen a pair visit my feeder on staten island in febuary
@@ronaldfonti6810 Lucky you!
They are so expressive, with the head cocking and the crest bobbing about indicating mood, or maybe just getting a better look. and the different eyebrows on coastal and interior versions. They can be a bit intimidating to some of the smaller birds visiting the feeders here, but I've also seen them being chased through the trees by feisty hummingbirds. They always seem to be up to some drama though. I had one visit my campsite and boldly break into my hazelnuts in seconds, it also discovered it could fit not 1 but 3 cheerios in it's beak at once. So greedy.
Thanks for the wonderful video! I never had the pleasure of seeing a Steller's Jay, but I hope to some time. They remind me a lot of Blue Jays, also. I wonder who would dominate whom at a bird feeder. I never knew there were so many subspecies of Steller's Jays. Very informative and professional video :-)
🥰 cute bird pfp susan
@@micahbirdlover8152 thanks! :-) Every summer, I plant zinnias, and when they go to seed, the goldfinches come and have a feast!
sounds like those goldfinches have a good time
you like mine
Did not know that the Steller Jay interbred with the Blue Jay. Love this bird, they are fun characters to watch.
These beautiful fellas have to be one of my favorite birds so it's great to see a video spreading the love for them! A pair took up residence in my backyard a few months back and now I see them almost every day but it never gets old. I didn't know about all the subspecies tho, very cool. I wonder which mine are cause their call is noticibly different from the one in the vid, theirs is a distinct screachy cawing sound that makes it very obvious when they're close by, or like a mile a way, it's not exactly subtle haha
7:15 one characteristic of evolution is that the babies of closely related species will look more alike than the adults do !
Very good!! I've never seen them!! and the hybrids...awesome 👍👍😎😉
That's so cool that they can interbreed 💙🖤. I bet those beautiful white eyebrows are a consequence of that
Lesley -Steller’s Jays have never dive bombed me, a behavior that I have heard is very common for Blue Jays. Also, they are very smart! I used to feed one peanuts in the shell. If I wasn’t up early enough, it found out where my bedroom was and he’d knock on my window as if to say, “Wake up, you dozy chick! It’s peanut o’clock!” 😹😹😹 And yes, he did an amazing mimicry of the red tailed hawk, which is a common bird in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. He certainly fooled me! I also had suet out for him, and I’d put black sunflower seeds into it. He had to share with the woodpeckers (downy & hairy woodpeckers, flickers, and pileated woodpeckers) though. ✌🏼💖
Blue Jays only dive bomb you if you’re near an active nest. Otherwise they’re too busy!
I live in Seattle and love these crazy birds. I find it so cool that they sometimes interbreed with bluejays!
I have had the opportunity to see these birds in Colorado. What beautiful birds!
I find listening to your commentary enhances watching the birds you present to us. And when I get wearied by Political or Religious debate, I turn to videos of nature to find a sense of inner peace. Thank you.
i have heard the steller's jays in our area do red-tailed hawk imitations that are even better than the one in the video. but they always cut it off short. maybe they don't have the lung capacity for longer calls. but one thing i have seen around here is steller's jays raiding other birds' nests. i have seen this happen with dark-eyed juncos and other birds. in spite of this behavior, i still like the birds. thanks for some great photos and video!
They live here where I am in B.C. and I once saw them in the same tree as bluejays when going for a walk. It startled me when I noticed them all looking at me. Birders with out of date information have told me they do not coexist with bluejays, but unfortunately I didn't have a camera or phone with me. This video amazes me because I did not know about their talented mimicry. When I hear them, they tend to always make their standard squawky sound, while the bluejays near me often switch their voices to completely different sounds continually in a short time period. Thanks Lesley!
Wow! They are so beautiful and awesome. Thanks for sharing sweetie.
If they are anything like the Blue Jays here in NW North Carolina or the Scub Jays in Southern California, if you become friends with them they get really bossy. The North Carolina Wren is the same.
Another fabulously interesting video, Lesley! I find the inter-breeding the most fascinating and like you would love to see the birds. Living in ME I only see Blue Jays, and some day I'd love to see these gorgeous Steller's Jays! Thank you so much, Lesley:)
Mimicking is definitely something I didn't know about the Steller Jays. Or cross breeding. Wish we had more of them in my part of the state. Western Wyoming has a lot of them. I'm in Northern Central Wyoming. Thank you to everyone who provided pictures and videos of this beautiful bird. And you too Leslie for making a video about them! 💙🖤💙🖤
I think mimicry is fairly common across all corvids.
is that bold 🦅 Wyoming adventures 🤔
@@micahbirdlover8152 My comment or my profile picture? 🤔
Such a beautiful bird,we don’t have them in Ohio but I love their cousins the blue jays who visit our feeders daily!
I've never heard of them before, but they do resemble my favorite, the Blue Jay, in a lot of ways, so I hope one might visit me sometime so I can see for myself!
I can tell you who finds these videos interesting: MY CAT! 😂 I started watching with my cat Jack, and it's a hit with him. I also love these videos. Always enjoy learning about birds.
I saw a Steller's Jay in my backyard here in California a couple weeks ago, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Apparently, a sighting is rare where I live. I've been dying to see another ever since.
Thank you for featuring these beautiful birds! I have a “party” of Steller’s Jays every morning who love peanuts in the shell! I absolutely love their “eyebrows”! They mimic my large flock of crows! 💖
In my area (west coast Canada) Stellers were always referred to as blue jays. I was recently surprised the see a true whiter coloured blue jay which don’t exist up here. I always loved watching our local Stellers Jays doing their thing with their beautiful blue on black plumage. I would love to see a true (white) blue jay some day.
We always called em blue jays too down here in Southern California. Always confused me as a child because I would see blue jays in like books and nature maGazines and wonder why they didn’t look the same as our blue jays. XD
You should totally do a video on the Bobwhite Quail, I see tons down here in Missouri!
Lol the mimic. Interesting, thank you Lesley :)
I am most familiar with bluejays, as I am in Ontario. But the Steller's Jays I've seen in northern B.C. were on a par with Canada Jays for friendliness and complete lack of shyness around people. They are amazing in full sun, though I never was able to get a good picture of the iridescence. Thanks for a lovely video!
Cool birds! I'm on the East Coast US, so I don't see them either. I was surprised to learn how widespread they are! I also thought the last video clip of a jay getting the peanut on the string was pretty amazing...nice flying skills! Thanks for another terrific and informative video!😊
they can do a barrel roll and time it so they pass between the vertical posts on the deck rails without a pause or hiccup and make it look so easy as to be routine
Always interesting, watching from Ontario.
Yay im second, and amazing video i love your channel, im a young birder in Ontario and i saw my first White Breasted Nuthatch yesterday, keep up the good work! :D
👍😀 awesome. So glad you saw one 🐦
Thanks :)
Congrats on adding the White-Breasted Nuthatch to your lifer list.
@@BirdsandGhibliFan Thanks, i though it was a red breasted, their calls are very similar