Grounding Messages From Beautiful Birds - Colorado Jays
- Mar 9
- 3 min read
Today’s post was inspired by my “tree sister” @k.byeee88! Last fall she asked me to create a Nature Based Therapy (NBT) informational essay and a video for nature-based therapeutic interventions and training for mindfulness exercises using the blue jay. She told me a story about seeing a flock of blue jays flying into the trees in a park in PA where she lives now while thinking about me and what I was going through at the time (my afib thing). I agreed immediately, but waited this long to write it because I like to use my own photos, and I had none of any jays and didn’t see any either. I heard them when I walked out my back door, or I walked in the neighborhoods at work. So, by surprise last weekend when I was walking the Contemplative Trail at Rock Canyon Open Space in CO Springs I spotted one! It was a Woodhouse Scrub Jay that I had never heard of. It was a rare match of timing and me actually being prepared carrying my camera with a longer lens attached. I included a couple of stock photos of the Stellar Jay (seen once in Pueblo Mtn. Park) as well as the Blue Jay that we also see in Southeastern Colorado.
All jays are members of the Corvid family (crows, ravens, cardinals). The Stellar’s Jay has sky blue feathers compared to the striped, gray-blue-black of the Blue Jay. They both have the crest of feathers on their heads. The Woodhouse Scrub Jay’s feathers are a blend of blue, gray, brown or white, and they don’t have the crest. They all have the loud, scolding cry and sharp beaks that enable them to winter in cold climates and break open harder shelled nuts like the acorn.
Jay birds are often thought of as thieves or survivalists who rob shiny objects from humans and nests and eggs of other jays. Their cries are also calls of warning or appeals for help against enemies (snakes, hawks, or owls) and they “mob” predators by nipping or biting them. Like other Corvids, jays are known for intelligence and excellent memories. Caching behaviors enable them to store over 5,000 seeds in a season and they can remember up to 200 cache spots, even the caches of other birds.
They are also known to be successful social collaborators. Sentries guard the family group while foraging and families tend to consist of mating parents and offspring that also feed the young and don’t mate. These survival skills create community, cooperation, and encourage bold behavior. Courage, protection, wisdom, resourcefulness, and adaptability are all virtues of the jay birds.
Some wise ones will tell you that all animal messengers only appear when the seeker is ready for the message. The jays, through their cries or when flying above us or into the trees, remind us to notice the path we’re on. Is it still right? Their caching behaviors are a natural communication about the benefits of delayed gratification and reflecting before acting impulsively. Caching also represents strength to get through hard times, having hope in times of despair to sustain the vision for our future goals, and staying resilient in times of change. The Woodhouse Scrub Jay reminds us to trust our instincts and be more observant to messages and information around us and use our wit to solve problems and focus on long-term strategic planning.
Welcome messages . . . pass them on.
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