By Rick Baetsen The Gray Jay is a bird that is known to those people that spend time in the remote boreal conifer forests of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They typically show little fear of humans and often exhibit inquisitive or bold behavior. Small groups of the birds will often suddenly appear to pick up food scraps or to rob unattended food left on a picnic table. They are also commonly called the "Canada Jay", "Whiskey Jack" or "Camp Robber". The majority of the bird’s range lies within Canada, but also inhabits areas of New England, the Mountain States, northern Minnesota and Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, there are a number of good locations, where one can search for the gray jay. The birds inhabit areas of conifer or "needled tree" forests. They can be found in areas of large stands of jack pines, but most locations where they will be found will include tree species of black spruce, balsam fir, white cedar or tamarack. Many of the best gray jay locations are areas of the boreal conifer forests that are not often frequented by people in their normal travels. Some of the better known and accessible locations to search for gray jays include: The Baraga Plains in Baraga County, The Peshekee Grade/Road-which follows the Peshekee River in western Marquette County, the north end of Seney National Wildlife Refuge-and upper Fox River Drainage area of northern Schoolcraft County, the lower drainage area of the Big Two-Hearted River in Luce County, the northern area of Tahquamenon Falls State Park-especially the Betsy Natural Area also in Luce County. Isle Royale National Park is an excellent location to observe the gray jays, as they are quite common on this wilderness island. One of the best locations to search for grays jays and that is easily accessible is the Hulbert Bog in western Chippewa County. This location is found by taking M-28 six miles west of the junction of M-28 and M-123 and Eckerman Corners to Hulbert Corner. Then take Basnau Rd south one mile and follow the curve to the west and down into a large white cedar/black spruce swamp. The gray jays can be found anywhere along the road in this conifer tree swamp. When searching for the birds, look for individual or groups of birds perched in the tops of tall conifer trees. Also listen for their calls, as they often will be calling from perches or in flight. They often travel in small groups and one often gets to see more than one bird. The birds seem to be nomadic or at least often on the move in search of food. I have found that is such areas as the Hulbert Bog, that many times it is just as good to stay in one location and the birds will often move into or through your area. The gray jay is a fair sized bird. It has a length of about 10" and a wingspan of 12-14". It has short and rounded wings and a long tail. A characteristic of the bird is that it often "glides" in flight on set wings, across small forest openings. Another characteristic of the bird, is that when on the ground it hops, rather than walking. The bird has an overall appearance of a gray look to it, as its name describes. The back of its head, its back and tail are of a darker color of gray. Its wings are almost black and its neck and breast are very light colored. The head is rounded and quite large for its body size. It has a thick black bill and a bright black colored eye. It also has black legs and feet. Both sexes of the gray jay are plumaged alike. The immature birds have a much darker charcoal gray appearance until they take on the adult plumage. The immature birds also have a much lighter colored bill. The call of the bird is varied and it can contain a number of different notes and whistles. Some of these sounds can be quite strange and if one should hear a strange call while in the remote conifer forests of the Upper Peninsula, one should search and you might find a curious gray jay. The breeding season for the gray jay begins in mid-winter and it is one of Michigan’s earliest nesting birds. Nest building activity can start as early as late January and nesting birds have been found in mid-February. The birds are known to cache nesting materials in preparation for future nest building. Bonnie Heuevelhorst, my spouse, and I observed a pair of gray jays collecting and caching fur from a deer carcass at the Hulbert Bog in early February of 1992. The birds typically build a nest of sticks in a branch of a conifer tree, usually close to the trunk. A nest that Bonnie and I located in northern Schoolcraft County in 1990 was in a small black spruce and was about seven feet off the ground. The nest is lined heavily with fur and or feathers. The birds need this heavy insulating layer to keep the incubating eggs warm during the cold temperatures of the late winter months. The female lays a clutch of 2-5 eggs and incubates them for about 17 days. Both adult birds tend and feed the young birds in the nest for about another 15 days. The gray jay nest that we located near Seney, in Schoolcraft County, had fledged young on May 05, 1990. The three young birds were being tended and fed by the adults in a group of conifer trees, one of which had held the nest. The young remain with the adults in a family unit well into autumn. At this time the young birds disperse to locate their own territories. The gray jay has a varied diet of foods that it will take, based upon the season. In the warm season months, insects make up much of its diet. They will also eat fruits and berries. The birds will eat meats or fat. Near the Tahquamenon River, during April of 1983, Bonnie observed a gray jay capture a frog. The bird took the prey up to an elevated tree perch. Bonnie watched as the bird, peeled and dropped the skin from the frog, before consuming it. The gray jay will come to areas where food is put out for them. A friend of ours, that lives in the Two-Hearted River area, has fed as many as 14 gray jays, by putting out meat and bread scraps on the ground in his feeder locations. The birds are known to cache or store foods in times of plenty. The birds store these foods in cavities, stump-tops or in conifer branches. Other jay species store foods in the ground, but the gray jay stores its food in elevated perches, so that it will be accessible during the heavy snow cover of the ground in winter. It is understood that the gray jay uses saliva to stick the foods to their hidden locations. The gray jay is an interesting bird of the boreal forest. The fact that it is curious or inquisitive, often gives one the opportunities, to get an up close look at this fascinating bird. Some of the other bird species that would be found with the gray jay would include the spruce grouse, boreal chick-a-dee, northern saw-whet owl and black-backed woodpecker. Information on the egg numbers and incubation and brooding periods is from The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds, by Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye. 1988. It is an excellent resource guide for birders. All images & text in this Northern Michigan Birding Bird Profile are owned by Rick Baetsen. Rick specializes in nature photography and his photographs can be purchased online at Rick Baetsen Wildlife & Nature Photography