Regarding Blue Jay migration, you can see this nicely on Vermont eBird -
https://ebird.org/vt/barchart?byr=2015&eyr=2019&bmo=4&emo=6&r=US-VT&spp=blujay&separateYears=true
You can see that in 2018, there were likely a lot more around as we had a
great nut crop from many trees. Then, this year, lowest in 5 years. So now
they are flooding back in with spring. Of course, you can dig into decadal
trends too for this species from eBird data here:
https://ebird.org/vt/science/status-and-trends/blujay
All this is captured from our checklisting on eBird. Thanks for
contributing everyone!

Kent
____________________________

Kent McFarland
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
PO Box 420 | Norwich, Vermont 05055
802.649.1431 x201
Twitter: @kpmcfarland <https://twitter.com/KPMcFarland>

<http://val.vtecostudies.org/>




On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 9:09 AM Jane Stein <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Thanks!  That's what I thought, but I couldn't remember for sure.
>
> There have been other mast years followed by crop failure (happens
> regularly), most notably resulting in a lot of squashed squirrels on the
> roads, but I sure don't remember this Bluejay influx happening before.
> Guess I just wasn't paying attention...
>
> When I was hawkwatching regularly in the fall, we used to marvel at the
> huge numbers of Jays flooding past to the south every few years.
>
> Jane Stein
> (Shoreham)
>
> On Fri, 10 May 2019 09:02:45 -0400, Ted Levin <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> > My visiting jays have moved on. Back to more manageable numbers; three
> to
> > be precise.
> >
> > There was *not* a lot of red oak acorn production this past fall—we had
> a
> > mast year fall of 2017. I imagine there was a lot of blue jay production
> > last spring (like there were for gray squirrels and chipmunks) and that
> > Northern New England winter 2018 could not support those jay numbers, so
> > they cleared out . . . and now they're headed back north.
> >
> > A thought . . .
> >
> > On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 8:50 AM Jane Stein <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >
> >> This thread is fascinating.  I've also had a sudden influx of Bluejays,
> >> not as many as other people are reporting, but way more than I usually
> >> have, maybe a dozen instead of the usual three or four.  Thanks for the
> >> suggestion, Martha, about throwing some seed on the ground to at least
> >> partly divert them from the feeders.
> >>
> >> Jays often go south in large numbers when the nut crop is skimpy, and
> >> what's going on now may be all those hungry fellows coming back home?
> >> Just
> >> a guess!
> >>
> >> Jane Stein
> >> (Shoreham)
> >>
> >> On Fri, 10 May 2019 12:41:03 +0000, Martha Pfeiffer
> >> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >> > The past four days my feeder and yard have been swamped by Jays.
> >> Finally
> >> > started referring to them as the Blue Pigs.Never before have I had so
> >> many
> >> > for so long.  I have other feeder birds hanging in the wings just
> >> waiting
> >> > to get on the feeder without much success.  I have started throwing
> out
> >> > seed on the ground which attracts the Jays and keeps them some what
> off
> >> the
> >> > feeder.  Hoping they will move on soon, like today!
> >> >   Martha Pfeiffer - Dorset
> >>
>