[birding] A surprising yard bird: Gray Jay

[Joel Geier]

Hi folks,

My lazy method of motorless birding is reaping some interesting results.

While scoping the tops of the tall Douglas-firs on the north end of
Tampico Ridge from our back yard this morning (still looking for a
Hermit Warbler which I haven't seen yet this year), I saw a jay with
white on its face go floating south through the treetops. My first
thought ran to Blue Jay, but as the bird kept flying I could see that it
was a GRAY JAY. It perched for about 5 seconds in one of the Doug-firs,
then glided down lower toward the south and vanished into the mid-
canopy.

When I first saw this bird, it was only about 200 yards south of where
the conifers stop at the north end of Tampico Ridge. I wonder if it was
prospecting out this way from the north end of McDonald State Forest,
and finally reached a dead end (the next treed habitat is close to a
half mile north by air, on Coffin Butte).

If I keep spotting forest birds like this in my back yard, it's going to
seriously cut into the exercise that I was hoping to get by searching
for them in Mac-Dunn State Forest later in the season!

More expected was a first-of-season BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, first heard
giving its distinctive chip call, then sure enough, there it was,
sitting in a hawthorn and acting like it was no big deal to fly here
from the tropics.

Happy spring birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis