“Lesley The Bird Nerd” has photographed backyard birds for a long time. She’s especially fond of blue jays and discovered that photos help her identify the jays as individuals.
Each blue jay has a different face!
Watch her video and learn how to do it yourself. (You’ll need a camera.)
(video from LesleyTheBirdNerd on YouTube)
Kate,
Thanks for posting this. Any hope I had of getting yard work is completely gone now. I have a nice blue jay flock here and I need to get to know them better. One thing though. Leslie is apparently able to tell the males from the females. I need to start there. Can you give me how to tell a male blue jay from a female? Also, do the juveniles have any characteristics that I can look for?
I do enjoy your blog, and thank you for your time and enthusiasm.
Kate Budacki
Kate, you can only tell them apart by behavior. In the spring the males offer food to the females … And then there’s mating that gives it away.
A few years ago I took pictures of the goldfinches and chickadees at a feeder I had set up. There were subtle differences in colors and patterns on these as well.
We used to have a Junco that would come back every year that we called Spot… he had a white spot toward the back edge of one wing, maybe from an injury or just a genetic mutation. Juncos don’t have a lot of color variation (except from the males to the females) so I think they are pretty tough to pick out individually.
Have been watching jays for a while and have discovered differences on the underside of their tails. I have 8 so far and have named them. Because they are pretty nervous, and busy, I’m not able to photograph them. I’m working on drawings!