Blue Jays as Master Gardeners

Blue Jays as Master Gardeners

We are all in an extraordinary dance with our surroundings, a relationship of intertwining threads that make up the tapestry of existence. One extraordinary example of that synergy is that of our Blue Jays and Oaks.

One morning I heard a rush of sound coming from a large White Oak on our land. A flock of birds was making a ruckus and even seemed to be rattling the branches. Forever curious, I watched and waited to find out who they were. It turned out they were Blue Jays. What they were doing I had yet to find out, and when I did I was amazed and in awe of the threads of that tapestry, and just how much gold is woven into our daily lives, or in this case, blue.

Air Lifting the Oaks

Every 2-5 years Oaks have what is called a mast year, an abundance of acorns to ensure their offspring’s dispersal out into the world. What I learned was that those Blue Jays in my tree were master gardeners, the ultimate native plant architects. According to an Article by Thomas Scott from the University of California: “An industrious group of jays can mount an acorn airlift that is nothing short of incredible, moving a forest worth of trees every autumn. Often the acorns are planted in the ideal spot for growing an oak seedling.” Thomas also sites an article by Carter Johnson and Curtis Adkisson entitled Airlifting the Oaks: “They discovered that 50 jays transported and cached 150,000 acorns in 28 days, about 110 acorns per day for each bird.”

This incredible feat seems like it should be common knowledge; how did I make it so far in life not knowing the sky was full of flying seeds? It feels like this heroic act by many thousands of Bluejays planting our forests each year deserves not just its moment, but its fully fledged nudge to pay attention to the teachers all around us. Another study found that jays not only planted acorns, but they also somehow knew which ones were weevil infested. The Blue Jays chose only those acorns that were healthy, ensuring the ones they stored would be viable seed.

Reciprocity of gifts

Oaks do more than feed Blue Jays, in fact they are pillars in our ecosystems providing food for incredible amounts of wildlife. According to Doug Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware and co-creator of Homegrown National Parks : “One of oaks’ most important benefits, is that they are the host plants for more than 1,000 kinds of moth and butterfly caterpillars. These Lepidoptera larvae, in turn, are the most important protein that virtually all parent songbirds need to successfully raise their offspring—from cardinals and chickadees to wrens, vireos and thrushes. By contrast, native birch trees host just over 400 caterpillar species, while elms host about 200.”

So those Blue Jays in my White Oak were out planting the future of all our songbirds, as well as a steady supply of food for their coming winter. They were planting a future for our ecologies we would be hard pressed to match; have you ever planted 110 oaks in one day? Of course, not all those acorns turn into trees. Like those planted by the squirrels, many are eaten or rot. Some, however, make it, resulting in the bloom of our natural landscapes, a self-perpetuating system of life-giving gifts. The oak feeds the Blue Jay and in turn the Blue Jay ensures the oaks’ seeds are peppering the landscape, a gift economy in action, a reciprocity of resources we would be wise to learn from.

 

Knowledge as a Heart Expansion

That morning observing the Blue Jays in my White Oak and the subsequent research into its origin story forever changed the way I look at both these showy species in my landscape. It nurtured my sense of love for the untold mysteries that are underfoot and, in the air, ready to astonish us in the magnitude of their elegance. Now when I look to the Oaks, it’s with gratitude, and when I hear the Blue Jays and their many songs  flitting across the soundscape I say thank you. When you become aware of these sorts of relationships it is heart expanding; suddenly a new awareness has threaded its way through your days. That blue thread became a part of the tapestry of my days, one of appreciation, but also purpose: to protect and nurture what I know and love.

Action Steps

·         Plant Native Oaks. This can be done simply by learning what your native species are and gathering acorns from beneath them and planting in the fall, Blue Jay style. Check out  NWF’s Native Plant Finder  and enter your zip code to find the right oaks for your ecoregion. Or find a native plant nursery in your area through Garden for Wildlife.

 

·         Appreciation! Get to know Bluejays through their sounds and behaviors, check out Audubon Society’s Blue Jay page to hear the many different calls they have, including mimicking a Red-shouldered Hawk!

 

 

·         Get involved. If you don’t have space yourself for an Oak, consider volunteering for a habitat restoration organization. Often the best resource for finding one is your local extension office.

 

·         Supporting Fist of Flora helps me offer my land and family that same reciprocity as the Oaks and Blue Jays allowing us to continue to plant and protect the ecosystems here on our farmstead land project whilst raising my brood of human nestlings.

 

Source: Jays Plant Acorns, by Thomas Scott, UC Berkley

Source: Want to Nurture Wildlife? Plant a Native Oak. By Doreen Cubie, National Wildlife Federation.