Larch Creek Birds

What the birds (and frogs) are saying at a creek in western Washington
Plate 23
Blue Jay
Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Birds of New York, 1914 · No restrictions
Bird

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata
Crows, Jays, and Magpies (Corvidae)
Unexpected now
Not expected here. The range model gives this species almost no chance at the creek in any season. Treat these detections with suspicion.
Field marks
A crested jay, blue above and white below, with a black necklace and bold white wing bars and tail tips.
Male & female
Alike.
Voice
Harsh 'jay! jay!', a liquid 'queedle', bell notes and hawk imitations.
Diet
Acorns and other nuts, seeds, insects, the occasional egg.
Habitat
Oak and mixed woodland of eastern and central North America; a rare visitor west of the Rockies.
Nesting
A cup of twigs in a tree; 3–6 eggs.
Size
10–12 in long, 2½–3½ oz: about a bar of soap, bright blue and loud.

Genuinely rare in western Washington, although a few turn up most winters. Steller's Jays make similar calls, so these detections deserve a listen before anyone phones a birding hotline.

Season how expected it is here, week by week

50%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecheard at the creektoday
Fig. 1. BirdNET's range model for this location: the chance this species is present in each week of the year. Orange ticks mark weeks it has actually been heard at the creek; the dashed line is today.

At the creek 10 calls on 3 days, first Oct 29, last Oct 31

1200:00 — 0 calls001:00 — 0 calls02:00 — 0 calls03:00 — 0 calls304:00 — 0 calls05:00 — 0 calls06:00 — 0 calls607:00 — 1 calls08:00 — 1 calls09:00 — 2 calls910:00 — 2 calls11:00 — 0 calls12:00 — 0 calls1213:00 — 1 calls14:00 — 0 calls15:00 — 1 calls1516:00 — 1 calls17:00 — 1 calls18:00 — 0 calls1819:00 — 0 calls20:00 — 0 calls21:00 — 0 calls2122:00 — 0 calls23:00 — 0 callssunrisesunset
Fig. 2. When it calls: all detections by hour of day (today's sunrise and sunset shown).
24Oct 2 — 0 callsOct 3 — 0 callsOct 3Oct 4 — 0 callsOct 5 — 0 callsOct 6 — 0 callsOct 7 — 0 callsOct 8 — 0 callsOct 9 — 0 callsOct 10 — 0 callsOct 10Oct 11 — 0 callsOct 12 — 0 callsOct 13 — 0 callsOct 14 — 0 callsOct 15 — 0 callsOct 16 — 0 callsOct 17 — 0 callsOct 17Oct 18 — 0 callsOct 19 — 0 callsOct 20 — 0 callsOct 21 — 0 callsOct 22 — 0 callsOct 23 — 0 callsOct 24 — 0 callsOct 24Oct 25 — 0 callsOct 26 — 0 callsOct 27 — 0 callsOct 28 — 0 callsOct 29 — 4 callsOct 30 — 2 callsOct 31 — 4 callsOct 31
Fig. 3. Calls per day over the last 30 days.

Recordings

Clearest recording · Oct 31 10:56 am · 95% sure
spectrogram
Recent · Oct 31 4:14 pm · 88% sure
spectrogram
Recent · Oct 29 1:27 pm · 93% sure
spectrogram

From the encyclopedia

The blue jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are also in Newfoundland, Canada; breeding populations are found across southern Canada. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common in residential areas. Its coloration is predominantly blue, with a white chest and underparts, and a blue crest; it has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest. Males and females are similar in size and plumage, which does not vary throughout the year. Four subspecies have been recognized.
From Wikipedia, "Blue jay", CC BY-SA 4.0.