The Western Scrub-Jay prefers scrub oak, woodlands, and chaparral, but does not breed in low scrub because it needs watch posts; also inhabits suburban gardens. Nests contain 3-6 eggs, spotted on darker greenish or reddish base; the nest is made of twigs and is well hidden in a tree or dense shrub. Like all jays, this species may be secretive and silent around its nest or while perching in a treetop in early morning but is frequently noisy and conspicuous. Scrub jays often eat the eggs or young of other birds, but in summer they are mainly insectivorous. These birds also eat acorns and have been described as "uphill planters," counter-balancing the tendency of acorns to bounce or roll downhill. The jays bury many more acorns than they consume and help regenerate oak forests that have been destroyed by fire or drought.

Camera: Leica R8 with Leica Digital Module-R Lens: Leitz 560mm f/6.8 Telyt Exposure: not recorded Support: shoulder stock & monopod Date: June 2007 Location: Sacramento County California When out of camera range this species, typical of jays, is noisy and conspicuous; the Western Scrub-Jay generally comes within camera range only long enough to grab the crumb that fell from your sandwich. Lacking a sandwich I got close the old-fasioned way: I watched and waited and melted into the background. The 'rim light' effect of this photo is a result of a bright light behind the bird along with a background of oak forest out of direct sunlight. This sort of lighting often means that unless the photographer can shade the camera's lens, the lens has direct sunlight on it, a prescription for veiling glare or other forms of optical flare. The lens I used is a simple 2-element achromat with only 2 air/glass surfaces, minimizing the internal reflections that cause flare.

Text and photograph copyright (C) Douglas Herr
last updated 07 June 2007