Meet the Canada Jay

The Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), formerly known as the Gray Jay, lives in boreal forest regions across Canada, and in boreal and subalpine forests of the Rockies, Northern New York, and Northern New England. These birds survive in colder climates year-round, and nest in dense conifer stands starting at the end of winter, which is much earlier than most birds. In order to supplement their survival in harsher climates, they store food throughout their territory in numerous caches all through the year. They have a varied diet that includes everything from insects, berries and fungi, to food stolen from campsites, as well as the eggs of other birds through nest predation.

Why study Canada Jays?

In addition to being incredibly cute and charismatic, the Canada Jay has frequent interactions with humans and is well known by outdoor enthusiasts and birders alike. With the release of a number of studies on the benefits of outdoor recreation over the last decade, as well as the after effects of COVID isolation, more and more people are spending time outdoors. Canada Jays were already known as "camp robbers" scavenging food for their numerous caches, but it has also become a popular activity to have close interactions with Jays by offering them food, then photographing or video recording them and posting to social media. We believe this could be a conservation issue since Canada Jays that are regularly fed by recreationists may become increasingly attracted to human activity, increase in density around popular recreation areas, and increase their predation on songbird nests in the immediate area.  

Goals of the Northeast Canada Jay Survey

With your help, this study hopes to:

1. Determine the effect of human feeding on Canada Jay behavior.

2. Determine if human feeding increases the presence of Canada Jays in recreational areas.

3. Determine if any changes in behavior and/or number of Canada Jays influences other bird populations.

Interested in participating? Here's how you can get involved.