Since returning to central Missouri, two weeks ago, blue jays have been relatively abundant at every park and nature preserve that I have visited; just yesterday, I observed 45 at Perry Phillips Park, in south Columbia. I might also add that blue jays seem to be more common in our neighborhoods in both Colorado and Missouri this year.
Perhaps the increased population merely reflects a boom cycle for these birds but I suspect other factors may also be responsible. Blue jays are omnivorous, aggressive birds that have always done well in suburbia; outcompeting other species for natural food and human handouts, they also sabotage their competition by feeding on eggs and nestlings. As our endless sprawl continues (urban, suburban and agricultural), we enhance the opportunities for blue jays and thereby augment their population growth.
And then, of course, climate change, habitat destruction and pollution are challenging many avian species, stressing the most selective (regarding food and habitat) above all others. Blue jays, less dependent on mature forests, natural grasslands and pristine wetlands, are relatively unaffected. It is not necessarily "the survival of the fittest" but more like "the dominance of the adaptable."
