2016 Blue Jay Recaptured

March 04, 2019

Where did it go?

By Neil Gifford, Conservation Director

This blue jay originally banded by Pine Bush scientists as a hatch-year (HY) bird in September 2016, was recently recaptured more than 300 miles away in New Portland Maine, in December 2018. Research suggests about 10% of the northeastern blue jay population migrate each fall, with HY birds more likely to migrate than adults. While there is no way to know, it's possible he/she was a migrant from Maine in 2016, or was a local bird that dispersed from the Pine Bush to Maine as an adult.

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