Like last year it was just Edith and I on Christmas morning, so after the presents were opened, I had some time to go birding. An alert had come in on December 23rd that a Blue Jay had been spotted at a Girl Guide camp in Richmond. It was probably found on the Christmas bird count for the area.
The camp is across from the south arm of the Fraser River near #5 Road. The camp has a live-in caretaker who has a daily routine of feeding peanuts to the birds in the area.
When I arrived there were a few birders there and they had seen the bird. It was not present at this time, but there were quite a few Steller's Jays around. Although I had seen this species on a couple of occasions in 2017, these were my first photos of them for the year.
Steller's Jay - Woodward Landing Girl Guide Camp, Richmond BC
Another bird that I only saw a couple of times, and only photographer once was also present, a Mourning Dove. They seem to have been displaced by the invasive Collared Doves.
Mourning Dove - Woodward Landing Girl Guide Camp, Richmond BC
Finally the Blue Jay showed up, just after the caretaker put out the peanuts.
Blue Jay - Woodward Landing Girl Guide Camp, Richmond BC
2017 Bird #218
These jays are common east of the Rockies, but whenever one shows up on the coast, it attacts a lot of attention.
Blue Jay- Woodward Landing Girl Guide Camp, Richmond BC
I'd visit again on New Year's day to see if I could add it to my 2018 list.
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