December 31, 2004
Wanderlust
Dan Fay finally got his pictures back of the hybrid jay that came to visit his feeder back in October. It is, as we thought, a Steller's x Western Scrub Jay. There's only one other documented record (that we can find) of this cross seen in Spannaway, WA back in 1999.
Western Scrub Jay has been steadily expanding its range northward since the early 20th century. It was once considered uncommon north of southern Oregon. By the 1970's, they could be easily found up and down the Willamette Valley. Scrub jays were rare fall vagrants here in Astoria until the early 1990's when a small group began appearing at Dan Fay's feeder. Scrub Jay is now locally common on the North Coast of Oregon. Reports from Seattle are now common place.
Hybrids are always a bit of a surprise, but it seems reasonable to expect an increase in the occurrence of hybrids along the leading edge of an expanding range.
Here's a link to see additional photos of Dan's hybrid.