The saga of the Steller’s jay nest is either heartbreaking, humorous, or heartwarming. Maybe it’s all of the above. Spring is the time of year for many wonders. Observing the various bird species nesting around our home always provides much in the way of wonder. The diligence of sweet, red house finches fashioning compact nests in the eaves of our house, or the graceful and swift swallows that have taken up housekeeping in some of the many decorative bird houses my husband, Tom, crafts, never cease to amaze. The Steller’s jay nest was neither compact nor cute.
The raucous, bright blue Steller’s jay birds I watch along my walk or from my office window always provide a show when they swoop onto the bird feeder, scattering smaller birds along with seed as their way of being top dog or top bird. Soon, I began to notice six-inch twigs littering the ground behind Tom’s workshop, where there is a large wood beam with a flat top under the eaves. Across the way, perched in the evergreen trees, the industrious jays were waiting, twigs in beak for me to take my leave so that they could get back to their construction project. I obliged, giving them lots of privacy for their task.
Each day I sneaked a peak at their construction progress only to find the pile of twigs beneath their chosen spot lying on the ground, growing steadily with no nest in sight. It seems the selected spot for their preferred real estate was causing construction problems, as each time the bird deposited a twig, lifting off their nesting site knocked the twigs back to the ground. This went on for over two weeks, with pieces of our roof gutter-cover showing up in the mix of twigs!
I was talking to some friends about the idea of placing a flat, woven paper-plate basket on the beam to aid the birds, but I worried that human intervention would scare away the birds. Tom decided to glue it up to the top of the beam, as the pile of nesting twigs was then over two feet high! I’ll be darned if those determined, diligent Corvidaes didn’t take Tom up on his offer of assistance, and at this writing, the birds are sitting on their spanking new nest!
As the National Park Service website says, Steller’s jays, Cyanocitta stelleri, like other Corvidae, “are considered to be one of the most intelligent and adaptable bird families worldwide.” They explain that their nests are made up mostly of conifer twigs, usually twelve feet off the ground in a crotch of a tree. Not always.
These 12-13 inch long birds, explains Cornell Lab’s All About Birds, are the single North American jays with crests. The distinctive, dark triangular crest is worn straight up from their head. Around 16 subspecies of Steller’s jays have been identified in North and Central America.
Steller’s jays are monogamous, and their clutch, usually 2-6 eggs, is incubated by the female for 16 days while the male feeds his mate. The oval eggs will be greenish-blue with speckles.
Each subtle season brings its own Mary Oliver-type of wonders. Ours for the price of showing up. I can’t wait to hear the pitter-patter of little wings!
Credit: Kathleen Scavone
