BALD BLUEJAY & more

Seen in the birdbath this week/ bald Bluejay

Sept. 2, 2023

Here's why I never seem to get much done as my office window looks over the front garden.

Sighted 5 minutes ago. BALD BLUE JAY!!!😲

Stopped what I was doing. Looked it up on line.  (What I call my “but I digress moments) Never even considered this was a thing.

Check out Laura Erickson’s “For the Birds”  https://www.lauraerickson.com website.

BLUE JAY information from Erickson:

"Every year in July and August, people here and there throughout the country notice bald Blue Jays and ask me about them. And every year I explain it pretty much the same way. Adult Blue Jays molt every summer. The feathers are replaced a few at a time over most of their bodies, so they retain enough feathers to keep flying and to protect their bodies from the elements.

"But some Blue Jays tend to drop all their head feathers simultaneously. This has one big advantage, reducing the number of days that the head is missing any feathers at all, but a big disadvantage, too, exposing the bird’s head to the elements with no protection whatsoever for as long as a week or two. I was licensed to keep an education Blue Jay named Sneakers for many years, and she molted this way. I was absolutely responsible for Sneakers, and very protective of her dignity, and this was also before I was taking many photos of birds, so I never took photos of her in her bald state. 

"That is, until this summer. Being home during the pandemic, one of my joys has been whistling to my neighborhood crows and Blue Jays when I set out peanuts. The nearest crow family brought off four chicks, and the family of six has been showing up regularly at my big tray feeder. One of the parents noticed this spring that if I went into the yard and whistled when it was nearby, I always put some peanuts in the feeder, and now the whole bunch is likely to show up if they’re within earshot when I whistle. So far, neither parent has lost all its head feathers.”

What about other birds?

GOLDFINCHES, notes Cornell’s e-Bird (https://ebird.org/home), molt twice a year. Here’s what they say:

“Every summer, goldfinches replace their bright body feathers with duller ones for the winter. The new feathers come in one by one, giving the birds that strange patchwork appearance.

Unlike most songbirds, goldfinches molt twice a year. At winter’s end, they’ll grow in a complete set of new golden yellow feathers. Again, each one will have a strange, patchy appearance for a few days, but soon they’ll be vividly beautiful again.”

CARDINALS, both male and female, molt every year. Here’s what AnyCardinals.com have to say:

    

Cardinals, both male and female, molt like many other birds. They molt once a year to shed their old, damaged plumage and grow stunning, new feathers to conduct flight efficiently, stay healthy, and allure their mates.Cardinals molt their feathers once a year, usually in the late summer and early fall.

Male cardinal will molt feathers from their whole body while female cardinals do not molt their body plumage, only their wings and tail feathers.

And on to another discovered bird topic

ANTING from birdwatchingdaily.com (Again, I digress…) 

And not only cardinals but other birds. 

“Have you seen a cardinal bird covered with ants? If yes, then you should know that there is no reason to panic. Cardinal birds covered themselves with ants. This behavior is called anting, where they voluntarily cover their whole body with ants. Although it is a bit unusual and alarming, cardinals are not the only bird species that do that. Ants release formic acid that helps birds ward off lice, so they do anting once in a while. 

One theory is that the acid secreted by the ants kills mites and other parasites that might try taking root in a bird’s feathers. Another possibility is that formic acid acts as a sort of natural balm, soothing the irritation caused by molting.”

And that was a bit of my morning. Now writing it up to share.

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