Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
It’s been awhile since I shared any of the birds I’ve been seeing. As I mentioned I was overwhelmed getting my life list up to date after March’s Florida trip, and April’s Texas trip. Today, I’m sharing 3 North American Jays that I added to my Life List this year.
Some of you know how badly I’ve wanted to get a decent photo of the Blue Jay since I first saw one in FL in 2024. They seem to know when I’m in Florida and Ohio with my camera. They toyed with me…hiding in the foliage or giving me a brief look and flying away as soon as I lifted my camera. Well, in March I had two full days to bird with my friend Mary. I spied a Blue Jay and doggedly followed it for 20 minutes to get a photo that wasn’t blurry, or a butt shot.
Blue Jay-showing only a bit of its beautiful markings, and there’s a dreaded branch right in front of its face. Sigh. I kept following it…
Blue Jay- Finally, a decent photo of one!
On my last day of birding with Mary we saw four Florida Scrub-Jays and we thought two of them were banded. I don’t have any information about this Jay from the bands unfortunately. It was backlit so I had to do some masking to lighten up its face a bit.
Florida Scrub-Jay
While in Texas the bird I had hoped to be an easy one to see was the Green Jay. I got lucky and saw a few but, getting an image was tricky. I did get some at a World Birding Site. They set out feeding stations for the birds and the Green Jay flew in for some nibbles.
These three Jays take me to seeing 7/10 Jays of North America. I’ve seen the Blue Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Steller’s Jay, Pinyon Jay, Green Jay, the Florida Scrub-Jay, and the Woodhouse Scrub-Jay. Maybe one day I’ll see them all, but if not I’m so excited to see as many as I have.
It’s been an amazing birding year for me. My bird count for this year is 361 species. With any luck, I hope to pick up a couple more with fall and winter migration. I think this is going to be the best year of birding I had in my life.
I’m birding this morning with the group so will be late getting to your blogs and comments.
I hope everyone has a lovely week-end!
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
Wow, I’ve never heard of a green jay. How handsome! And you really captured his personality. Hugs on the wing.
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Thank you so much, Teagan! They stay pretty far south in Texas.
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You got your jays! Hooray! Great photos, Deborah. I’ve never seen a green jay, so thank you. I’m so glad it’s been a great birding year for you.
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Congratulations, Deborah. I know how exciting that is for you.
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Thank you so much, Janet! It was exciting. 😊
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Beautiful bird captures, Deborah. We have had a blue jay visit our birdie water dish now and then over the summer, and we see our share later in the year as well. That is a lot of species you already have booked for this year. We also had a big ol’ cardinal visit a couple of days ago…which probably brings my birding count to twenty or so lol. Enjoy!
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You have the Blue Jay and the Northern Cardinal visiting your house!! You’re so lucky. We don’t get either of those birds out here. 20 is a great count for someone who doesn’t think he’s a birder. 😊
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I have always loved seeing your Blue Jays when they are posted by fellow bloggers, they are beautiful forms of Magpie and Crows of which they are related via Corvidae family, they are all our most intelligent birds.
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Thank you so much, Ashly! They are intelligent birds indeed! Right now we’ve a murder of crows and ravens hanging around. They are a joy to watch, and listen to in the mornings and evenings.
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These are great photos, Deborah. I am constantly familiar with blue jays but the others are all new to me. Gorgeous birds.
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Thank you so much, Dan! Your Blue Jays might be the ones that really got me to want to see one. They’re so pretty. I’m so glad I have seen them now. They are gorgeous.
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I love seeing them dive, pick up a peanut, and fly off. They have remarkable vision.
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They do!
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Great shots, Deborah. I have never seen a green jay before. He has some good looking bands on him. I hope you have a great birding adventure. Your species count is impressive.
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Thank you so much, John! The Green Jay is so pretty isn’t it. I thought they would be more abundant but, I only saw a few.
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Well, you certainly captured that one.
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Thank you so much, John!
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😊
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Very exciting to add these three to your list 😊. Beautiful photos!
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Thank you so much, Belinda!! It was exciting. 😊
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Nice captures!
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Thank you so much, Gordon!!
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Being not a birder myself I had no idea it is so diffucult to get them properly pictured, Deborah! You did well though! 7 out of 10 is already wonderful, maybe you are going to get all of them. (Party! 🙂 ) Perhaps an already great birding year will get even better!
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It can quite challenging especially when the trees have leafed out. 7 of 10 is pretty great. Thank you so much, Peter!!
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It’s always a surprise when I realize someone hasn’t seen a bird that’s so common here I barely pay attention to it. The bluejay is a perfect example. It never would have occurred to me that you went for years without seeing one. Of course, I’ve never seen a scrub jay or a green jay; as the realtors say, it’s “location, location, location”!
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That’s so true about location! I often find it funny that in Hawaii they get so excited over the American Coot but, they’re all over the place here. I stopped taking them for granted after I learned that. 😊
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Congrats on the 7/10 mark – woo hoo
And your hustle paid off for that awesome photo and enjoyed each photo comp in this post
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Thank you so much, Yvette!
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🪶🪶 🤍🤍
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So you did some jaywalking but didn’t get in trouble for it.
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LOL! That’s a good one! No, no trouble at all. 😊
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