Gray jays

[Jill]

Are there any spots left in Maine where it is relatively easy to see these guys without needing to hike very far? I have a mobility restricted friend who would love to see them and other boreal species. Thanks for any tips.

[andrew...@gmail.com]

I've seen them a few times along Boy Scout Rd. in Rangeley off of ME-16, but I don't get them every time.  They used to be regular along the main road in Baxter, but don't know if they are still since I don't go there anymore.  Wish I could be of more help.

Andrew

[Dana Valleau]

I second Andrew’s suggestion of Boy Scout Road and add along Route 16 from Stratton west to the NH border. 

Other road side areas where I have observed gray jays recently include Rte 27 between Stratton and the PQ border, Lily Bay Road from Greenville to Kokadjo, and Route 11 from Patten north to Winterville, plus any side roads with appropriate habitat of spruce-fir dominated stands.  Watch out for truck traffic! Boreal chickadees are in similar habitat as gray jays and knowing and hearing their wheezy “chick a day day” call is the best way to locate them.

Good luck!

Dana

Dana Valleau

72 Sherman Road

Liberty, Maine 04949

Mobile: (207) 215-4582

Email: danab...@gmail.com

On Jan 2, 2023, at 11:09 AM, andrew...@gmail.com <andrew...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've seen them a few times along Boy Scout Rd. in Rangeley off of ME-16, but I don't get them every time.  They used to be regular along the main road in Baxter, but don't know if they are still since I don't go there anymore.  Wish I could be of more help.

Andrew

On Monday, January 2, 2023 at 7:28:02 AM UTC-5 jillmcm1970 wrote:

Are there any spots left in Maine where it is relatively easy to see these guys without needing to hike very far? I have a mobility restricted friend who would love to see them and other boreal species. Thanks for any tips.

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[Glenn Hodgkins]

In my experience, Rangeley is the best easily accessible location in Maine to see Canada Jays. Not sure if you're thinking about winter or summer birding but for winter birding, I don't know if the Boy Scout Rd is plowed or not. Routes 4 and 16 are generally too high speed for comfortable road-side birding but there's a bunch of paved and dirt plowed roads in the area with some good boreal habitat. One idea is the Redington Rd off Rte 16 just north of Rangeley. There's a utility building about 1/4 mile down this road on the right where I've had Canada Jays. Last winter they were putting out seed there. Another idea is Dallas Hill Rd, the access road to Saddleback, I've seen them about 3 miles in on this road. Here's a map of eBird sitings (need to zoom in) the last several winters and there's a bunch of other side roads near Rangeley with sitings. Looks like several recent ones near Errol NH. 

A fun winter birding loop is Rte 4 (or Rte 17) to Rangeley, then Rte 16 through Errol and Rte 26 over Grafton Notch and back to the Bethel area. There's a good chance of also seeing irruptive species on this route. This year, you may run into Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, Bohemian Waxwings (check the crabapple trees in towns), Common Redpolls (birches or alders), Red Crossbills (spruce trees), or Pine Siskins. Change the species in the eBird map to any of these, and you can see where recent sitings have been. Boreal Chickadees are possible in any good stands of spruce anywhere in the area but they're more shy and less numerous than Black-capped. Listening for their slow weezy call is the most likely way to find them.

Glenn