When we think of colorful birds, we often think of spring when the migrating songbirds return to New Hampshire in their brightest colors of the year to attract the attention of a mate. Winter, however, gives us time to appreciate a number of very strikingly patterned birds that often go underappreciated during the rest of the year. Furthermore, due to the increased difficulty of finding food when the ground is frozen and covered with snow, many of these birds are a bit more inclined to visit our backyard feeding stations and give us a good look.
As backyard bird watchers, we have a tendency to favor smaller birds and sometimes even actively discourage feeder visits by larger birds, fearing they will crowd out the little ones. One species that often suffers from this perception is the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata).
In the winter, blue jays are often seen in small, roving bands that move through an area looking for food, spending 15-30 minutes at a location before moving on. They tend to be quite vocal raising their voices with distinctive calls that make it easy to determine which direction the group is traveling through the forest, even when they can't be readily seen.
When they are using a bird feeder, they will often take up stations in the trees around the feeder and then one by one take turns at the bird feeder, while the others seem to sit on sentry duty. The noise they make definitely gives away their locations, as does their size and tendency toward constant movement.
Although we give them a repuation as backyard bullies, the blue jay is arguably the most brightly colored and attractively patterned bird of the New Hampshire winter. The large crest, visible even from a distance in silhouette, makes the blue jay quite easy to identify, even if backlit against the sky so that its colors can't be seen.
The bright blue feathers of the bird's wings, back, tail, and head are accented by the sharp contrast of black and white markings that alternate with blue along the wings and tail. Despite it's reputation, the blue jay is really a remarkably beautiful bird and certainly one of the most underappreciated of New Hampshire's winter birds.
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