Steller’s Jays

Steller’s Jay Tracks

Natural History of Steller’s Jays

jay

A Steller’s jay is a blue bird with a black crest and tufts of feathers on top of the head. This is the only California jay with a crest.

They are common in campgrounds and have been called "camp robbers" because of their habit of stealing food from picnic tables. Although noisy and conspicuous in campgrounds, they are quiet when near their nest sites. They are very secretive about hiding their nests.

Their tracks, which are smaller than those of the raven, show three toes facing forward and one toe facing backward.

They eat many things, including the young of other birds, fruit, berries, seeds, insects, and human food. Steller’s jays are bold and will grab food right off a picnic table if you turn your back.

Steller’s jays can imitate the calls of the red-tailed hawk and the golden eagle.

Jays will sit on fence posts or treetops to survey their surroundings. Because they spend much of their time in trees, the tracks you find on the ground will be paired.

Personal Notes on Steller’s Jays

 

These birds are common around the campgrounds I work in. They will raid a picnic table quite boldly. I have had them land on the table and hop to within inches of me to grab a morsel of food that was dropped. I once saw two thrushes chasing a jay that had made off with one of their young. They apperently thought they could get it back. Sadly, that was not the case. So, the jay enjoys an occasional nestling in its diet.

 

Find jay and other bird posters, greeting cards, t-shirts, hats, and more in my new store.

Now available: "Animals Don't Cover Their Tracks - An Introduction to Animal Tracking" on CD! (Version 3.0) New drawings, more species, more photos, more extensive sections on tracking humans, more detailed directions for plaster casting, mystery tracks section, tracking stories section, and more. The CD features over 100 species, including special bonus sections with the tracks of some African and Australian animals. A large section on tracking lost people for search and rescue is included, with over four pages of photos showing the details of tracks and signs people leave. Easy to use format. This web site is limited by bandwidth, but the CD-ROM is not. The CD is available in my online store at: www.dirt-time.com  Works with Mac or PC. Happy tracking!!

What else can you find in the nature store? Beartracker's animal tracks coloring book, T-shirts, sweatshirts, journals, book bags, toddler and infant apparel, mouse pads, posters, postcards, coffee mugs, travel mugs, clocks, Frisbees, bumper stickers, hats, stickers, and many more items. All with tracks or paw  prints, or nature scenes. Custom products are available. If you don't see the track you want on the product you want, email me and I can probably create it. Proceeds from all sales go to pay the monthly fees for this web site. You can help support this site as well as get great tracking products! Thank you!

 

Find other tracking products: www.zazzle.com/tracker8459*

 

Also visit these fine stores for more products of interest:

NDN Pride shop - For Indian Pride items for all tribes. Custom items available on request.

ASL Signs of Love - For anyone who uses or is learning ASL, American Sign Language. Custom name items and more are available here.

Sales from all stores give commissions to Beartracker's Animal Tracks Den, which helps keep this site online as a free service. We are celebrating ten years online this year!

 

 

prints prints

Got a jay story? E-mail me and tell me about it.

tracker@humboldt.net

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Copyright © 1997-2008. Text and drawings by Kim A. Cabrera