![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/BlueJayHawthornonNaturalCrooksDotCom.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThis Blue Jay was not eating the Hawthorn haws, at least not this time.<\/em><\/p>\n Many Blue Jays migrate south away from Ontario for the winter. In the spring, when they start moving back, I often see flocks of 25 to 50 flying silently. It’s almost spooky: these birds are seldom quiet the rest of the year!<\/p>\n Along my nearby trail, though, a few Blue Jays are preparing to spend the winter. I’ve watched them carrying all sorts of food into the wood lot to hide.<\/p>\n This blue bird is truly turquoise in the summer, but when I saw it this October, it was fading fast.<\/p>\n This is an Indigo Bunting changing plumage.<\/p>\n Both this year and last, in mid-October, I saw a solitary Eastern Bluebird along the trail. Unlike the Blue Jays, it doesn’t seem interested in prolonging its stay here into the winter. Instead, I saw it for two days hunting for insects and then it was gone.<\/p>\n A few are reported each winter, though. Like American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds can eat some fruit. I’m not sure how many successfully survive the winter, but it’s likely a few do.<\/p>\n Most springs, and some autumns, I get a quick look at a Black-throated Blue Warbler.<\/p>\n And spring Blue-grey Gnatcatchers can brighten up the woods at the Rattray, Lakeside Park and the Riverwood Conservancy.<\/p>\n I hope to see another Bluebird next autumn, if not sooner. And I’ll keep an eye on the Jays as they raid the local feeders this winter. And maybe some spring, I’ll see a Cerulean Warbler–something to look forward to!<\/p>\n I think this Jay has a (shelled) Shagbark Hickory nut but I’m not sure.<\/em><\/p>\n Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n Join In<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two blue birds brighten the October skies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[350,385,150,869,868,77],"class_list":["post-8736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focus","tag-black-throated-blue-warbler","tag-blue-jay","tag-blue-grey-gnatcatchers","tag-cerulean-warbler","tag-eastern-blue-bird","tag-mississauga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8736"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8740,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8736\/revisions\/8740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Blue Jays Prepare for Winter<\/h2>\n
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\nYou can see this Jay has been raiding someone’s peanuts.<\/em><\/p>\nOnly a Blue Bird for a Short Time Longer<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAn Occasional Blue Bird Passes By as It Prepares for Winter<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nA Couple of Other Mississauga Blue Birds<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nBye Bye Blue Birdies!<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nDo you have a favourite blue bird? Please share your views with a comment.<\/p>\n