How cool, Saintp! I love blue jays, too. They are so beautiful and so clever! Noisy, boisterous, bullies when they think they can get away with it, yes. But then...so am I, I reckon!! ;o)

In case you don't already know this, blue jay babies (like most birds) fledge before they are really ready to fly, and spend a few days hopping and half-way flying from bush to bush until they master the art. It's normal and an important part of their development. As you have already thought about, they are vulnerable during that time, but it's always best to leave them be, unless you see that they are in immediate danger from a predator (or vehicle). In which case, the best thing to do is move the bird to a low bush somewhere and back away so the parents can continue to feed and teach it.

If very small babies fall out of the nest (few feathers, not ready to even TRY to fly), put them back, if possible. It is an old wives' tale that the parents will reject them if they have been handled by a person. The parents don't know and don't care, as long as the baby is back in the nest.

Hope this helps ANYONE who has birds nesting in their yards now. 'Tis the season!!

Marcia

Thanks, Marcia. Yes, that's why I like them as well!

My big worry is the location of the nest. It really is not safe for fledglings unless they fall right into my yard (what are the odds?). The street and sidewalk are right below the nest. :(

Surprisingly, my company doesn't pay me to watch blue jays (...what shame!), but I do plan on checking on them occassionally on my coffee break.

What I'd like to know is how long from the time the eggs have been laid to fledging time? I 'think' the eggs have only been there for a few days.

The nest is about 20 ft above the ground on a large oak limb.

saintpt, this is great, I wish I had Blue Jays, but my Mockingbirds are just as much fun. The little one is out and about and his squawking for food and reassurance goes on all day :-)

Evelyn

Lucky you, Saint! I love the blue jays too for all of the reasons stated above. Hope the babies grow strong and healthy and stay out of danger.

Evelyn, your mocker is too cute!

I have a wren flying around with lots of building materials but I haven't discovered where it's building yet. Yesterday it had a mouthful of dog hair that I had left in the yard after brushing Sedona. He had a look on his face like he really scored! lol!

~Betsy

OMG, Evelyn! If you knew how many baby mockingbirds I hand fed while working at Audubon, you'd die! People would bring in baby birds all day long, and you couldn't convince them to leave them alone, so my job was to take care of them and get them prepared to be released back into the wild later on.

One of the reasons we do not encourage people "rescuing" the baby birds is that there comes a time when the bird has imprinted so strongly on the parent bird, it will not take food from a person. You can cram it down their throats, but it will just sit in the crop area and not be digested. So removing them from the parent's care is often a death sentence.

Now if a whole nest comes down (like during a storm) sometimes there is no recourse but to rescue them and try to feed them. And I know techniques have improved GREATLY from the days I was involved in bird rescue. So the odds might be better now. But lordy, lordy...I must have handraised at least 200 baby mockingbirds in a couple years time. Not to mention jays, grackles, thrashers, titmice, and maybe 1,000 mourning doves! (My least favorite baby birds of all time.)

Anyway, your picture is a trip down memory lane for sure.

Saintp, the length of time it takes an egg to hatch varies from species to species, but usually it is not very long. A week or ten days, often. I'll see if I can find out about bluejays. I don't remember. Maybe I never even knew. But the info is probably out there somewhere. Will get back to you later.

Marcia

Thanks, Marcia. That would be great. I'll keep you all posted on the Blue Jay family happenings!

Love the Mocking bird picture! They are another of my favorite birds. I just love their many songs.