Can you identify this flock in the sky? It is an April sighting that you may not expect as so many birds are pushing back to the north, our climate moving into the warm season and the weather improving as each spring day passes. These are all Blue Jays in a sizable group, one of many hundreds of similar flocks that fly over Long Island Sound from points unknown, landing at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut. Sometimes the birds make a brief stop, resting in the trees, before immediately continuing their flight. Other times smaller groups stay and disperse a bit, looking to feed. More often than not these flocks make a few spins in the sky, reorienting themselves and moving on without pause. This small spectacle is an annual event, and the river of Blue Jays is certainly one of the more subtle spring flights. I am going to go out on a limb and say you are not eagerly heading out your door for a day of birding in hopes of finding a Blue Jay, in comparison to warblers, tanagers, vireos, flycatchers, and so on that are also returning to us, but a species we think of as a year-round neighbor certainly holds secrets and may have been much further away than you thought.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
