California Scrub-Jay

Ever spot a flash of blue in the tree branches? You might have spotted the California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica): a white-throated bird with a grey back, and a bright blue head, wings and tail. The scrub jay hides calculated food caches and recovers them, demonstrating their unique long-term memory and mathematical planning abilities.

Quarterly birding monitoring by the Friends of Sausal Creek confirms the California scrub jay is an abundant year-round resident species, with sightings recorded on almost every monitoring day in Sausal Creek, regardless of the time of year.

Look for these signs of the California scrub jay’s presence; a well-built nest of twigs and grass in a small shrub or tree, light green eggs with brown spots, a harsh or scratchy screech bird sound, and the flash of blue wings.