Nature Watch, Feb. 21, 2024

Blue jays rule the world around our house now since the sun started its annual climb back up the sky. Their pre-mating flocks of 10 or more, flute-calling, a flurry of blue bobbing and flouncing, then suddenly still, silent for 10 minutes in the top of a tree. What’s it about? Coming before mating season, it doesn’t seem to lead to pair-bonding or finding food, and, frankly, more research needs to be done on this marvelous song bird. Well, enjoy them now, because in a couple months they’ll go into their nesting period, neither seen nor heard, devoted parents who, like crows, will often have a young adult from last year helping out. Clever birds!