What next for a widowed Blue Jay?

I've not posted here before but have enjoyed the comments and especially the images of so many wonderful birds in so many gardens. I am fairly new to birding and to eastern North American birds in particular but am now hooked by these fascinating creatures. In the 2 years since I moved here I have tried to make my small garden as bird-friendly as possible. So I was devastated this morning to see lying dead in my neighbor's yard my favorite bird, an enormous Blue Jay who has been my constant gardening companion this spring (he knew that I put the grubs that I dig up into a saucer and he would come quite close - 2 feet away - to feast). I have buried him and turned the hose on the villain (a C-A-T) returning to the scene of the crime. Mme. Jay has been calling him all morning - it's very upsetting.

Now my questions. What happens to birds when their mates die? Do they find another? Will she be able to raise her young without his help? (Last year their baby fell from the nest - high in a massive maple - and they looked after him on the ground for three weeks. I can't count the number of times I rescued the ungrateful creature from cats. We were so relieved to see him flying.) Will other Jays move into this territory? Is there anything I can do apart from providing food (hulled sunflower seeds) and water that will make things easier for Mme. Jay? I wish I could but I cannot control the neighbors' cats.

Thanks for any comments.

I do not have the answers to your questions, but I remember when i was a kid, how well Blue Jays protect there young.

We had a baby blue jay wander and fall into one of the window wells by our basement windows.

My dad, trying to save the lil bird went down to pick it up when all of a sudden, Daddy Blue Jay swooped down and nailed by dad right on his bald head with its beak. Hit him hard enough that it drew blood.

I thought it was funny, dad didnt :) Anyway - he still rescued the lil fella :)

I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your blue jay friend. I do believe the female will find another mate eventually; if she already has young to look after, providing water and food (maybe some mealworms too?) might help. I'm pretty sure that if she has nestlings, she could handle feeding them on her own.

It can be hard when dealing with neighbors and their pets...best of luck to you.

Letting urban cats outside is still common, at least where I live, but, just as getting them neutered has become the norm, more cat owners are choosing to keep cats indoors, or at least leashed. A neighbor of mine, with whom I have a good relationship, has had a cat that goes outside at will, and has killed many, many birds. I have talked her into keeping the cat indoors during baby bird season, which helps somewhat, but adult birds still get killed. She has taken to putting a harness on the cat and leashing him outside, and surprisingly, the cat seems happy with this, and certainly doesn't seem to do any hunting when he is leashed. The cat still escapes occasionally when he can, but at least he spends less time hunting. But in situations where there are multiple loose cats, this is a very difficult process of influencing and educating the neighbors. Also, where I am there is no cat leash law, as there is for dogs, but technically a homeowner could trap a trespassing cat and call animal control to remove the cat. This is not something easily done, nor does it make for good neighborly relations, but it might be a last resort.

Susan in Minneapolis

Yes, she'll find another mate. Be sure to put out mealy worms to help her feed the babies and also sunflower seeds, peanuts and water. Make sure the water is elevated not sitting flat on the ground (maybe on top of an overturned plant pot). Also make sure its not too close to things where a cat can dart out from quickly and surprise the Jay.

See if you can have a friendly chat with your neighbor about keeping the cat indoors.
It might even be illegal to let your cats loose outdoors; it is where I'm from.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Thank you all for your comments. I've been blue all day over this and was worried that Jays might be one of those 'mate-for-life' types. Now I'm somewhat astonished to see that the female appears to have found a new mate (the hussy!). Is that possible? I *know* there were not three Jays flying around here yesterday or two this morning, but there are two adults out there this very minute, giving some cat what-for.

Bleepster's story about the Jay swooping down and zinging the baby Jay's rescuer made me laugh, but also set me thinking that my Jay friend might have been swooping down on killer cat. I found him in the middle of a lawn, 20 feet from any cover, and his body was unmarked. Could this year-old cat have stalked him from such a distance?

The cats. Sigh. A youngish woman across the block has at least nine and this morning's culprit was one of them. They are loose most hours of the day and night and I don't believe any are neutered. With rare exceptions these are the only cats I ever see. (I confess to having one myself - a eunuch, but he doesn't leave my garden and is not outside unless I am. He's usually asleep on the guest bed.) There are loose cat laws here, but having just last week resolved another issue with another neighbor (her pitbull jumped her fence on 3 occasions) I am loathe to take up my cudgel again just yet. Why can't people take proper care of their animals? Aaargh!

Last summer we changed our feeder / bath set-up so as to make them safer for the birds. I will pick up some of these mealyworms, which I first read about on this forum, at the local wild bird store. If they're anything like Japanese beetle grubs, I know they'll be a big hit with all the birds in my garden.

Thanks again for your input.

They do mate for life but if one mates life is over then they find another mate.

Nine cats??? Wow that sounds like another law broken. I don't mind people having a lot of pets but letting them run loose is so dangerous for them let alone the birds.


Unsalted peanuts in or out of the shells are a big Blue Jay hit.

If you have a Petsmart or Petco nearby they might also sell mealy worms and they might be less expensive than the bird store. Give them a call.

That is so sad. We have numerous cats running loose where I live also. There are laws against it but hard to enforce them.

We have lots of Blue Jays here and I have yet to figure out how to differentiate between the sexes. I see males feeding the females (I presume) but really can't tell a difference. Can some give me some pointers?

The sexes are alike.

it's possible that in the way you describe as finding your poor jay, that maybe it wasn't the cat who killed him. a cat would have taken the "prize" home, not left it lying in the yard. perhaps it hit a window and then flew just far enough to die? just thinking out loud.

thanks!

trackinsand - we have really been scratching our heads over how this Jay died. He was perhaps 100 feet from any structure and farther than that from one with windows. Someone even suggested that since he was so big that he might have had a heart attack (like those super-sized basketball players)! The cat seemed most logical, since he was all over the spot and kept coming back to it for hours. I'm afraid this will have to go in the avian cold case file.

I've been assuming that I had the genders right based on the departed Jay's larger size and bolder, more visible behaviour. The remaining Jay was not around as much and if present usually was positioned at a greater distance (from me). A lot of assumptions, I know.

So the presumed Mme. Jay has dumped her suitor from yesterday and is busily going it alone. Squirrels are consuming the peanuts I set out, but there's plenty for everyone. Mealyworms to come.

One other possibility - Blue Jays are notably susceptible to West Nile Virus. I doubt that a cat could catch a healthy Blue Jay unawares in the open (Blue Jays are strong enough to fight back effectively), but it would be able to catch one debilitated by virus. If you've had WNV in the region, quite possible the bird was sick with it before being caught by the cat.

As far as I know, it isn't possible to catch the virus other than by mosquito bite transmission, but even so, I'd dispose of the dead bird without touching it.

Resin

i never thought of that. we were advised (here in florida) not to handle the dead birds except with gloves.

Oy! That wretched Asian Tiger mosquito is certainly present here - UM extension has warned that it could be a vector for WNV. Seeing the Jay drinking from a nearby gutter on Sunday alerted me to the fact that it was clogged and on Monday when we drained it the Tigers were swarming like in some horrible OFF! advert - so the opportunity for transmission is there. Would an otherwise healthy bird decline overnight from WNV? He was showing no signs of debilitation the previous evening.

I had thought that if indeed a cat had taken him out it would have been because of some freakishly well-placed blow that broke the neck instantly. I didn't examine him except to observe that not a feather was ruffled or out of place – so indeed I don't know that his neck was broken.

And yes, I did handle the bird very briefly without gloves (from lawn to cardboard to cotton wrapper) and scrubbed right after burial - I will let you know if I come down with anything ghastly. (I've always been glove-resistant - probably not good.)

i don't know how fast the decline is but i do know that jays, crows, titmice, bluebirds and robins seem to be the hardest hit species from what i've read. i would imagine it is pretty fast. i mean, a bird is small and must expend so much energy every day in flying and searching for food that i would think a virus would run through them quickly.

This is informative -

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/birds&mammals.htm

and the list of birds:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/birdspecies.htm

Testing for WNV in dead birds by health officials in Maryland stopped in 2003 - it's present in every jurisdiction.

Regardless, I think I won't exhume this bird and swath him in plastic for a landfill grave. He's buried quite deep, under slate and wild violets.

oh, that brings tears to my eyes. what a beautiful place for your friend.