Monday, May 10, 2010

Drought, Beetles, Jays, and Nutcrackers in the American West

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch comes a fascinating tale about how Pinyon Jays and Clark’s Nutcrackers dispersed widely in the winter of 2002-2003 in response to a protracted drought that had prevailed in the southwestern U.S. since about 1999. The drought, in combination with infestations of native beetles that resulted in the widespread loss of Pinyon Pines, a valuable food source, caused the birds to wander in search of alternative foods.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Georgianne Holland said...

Hello John. I live in the Boulder area of Colorado. I saw a Steller's Jay at my feeder, started looking around the web for information. Saw your link to this information and am fascinated. This lovely bird is new to me, but I can see that many displaced Jays may be in Colorado. I am so happy to have them visit my backyard. Thank you for helping me learn more about their situation.

Bird lover,
Georgianne Holland
I am off to create folk art of my new friendly Jay...

June 17, 2010 9:38 AM  

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