WhenToBird

Cyanocitta cristata · Corvidae

Blue Jay: When and Where to See It

Adult Blue Jay
Photo: Texas Bird Family, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Blue Jay reaches Wyoming first, around mid July, and Idaho last, around late September.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

Embed this map on your site

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 26% of 1114036 checklistsJan 8-14: 25% of 824708 checklistsJan 15-21: 25% of 825978 checklistsJan 22-31: 26% of 1105853 checklistsFeb 1-7: 27% of 779772 checklistsFeb 8-14: 27% of 864504 checklistsFeb 15-21: 28% of 1127933 checklistsFeb 22-28: 27% of 840124 checklistsMar 1-7: 27% of 839610 checklistsMar 8-14: 28% of 870138 checklistsMar 15-21: 28% of 898456 checklistsMar 22-31: 30% of 1335637 checklistsApr 1-7: 31% of 1030617 checklistsApr 8-14: 32% of 1124024 checklistsApr 15-21: 34% of 1194575 checklistsApr 22-30: 37% of 1675723 checklistsMay 1-7: 41% of 1449080 checklistsMay 8-14: 40% of 1538353 checklistsMay 15-21: 37% of 1219898 checklistsMay 22-31: 32% of 1452282 checklistsJun 1-7: 29% of 900636 checklistsJun 8-14: 28% of 829907 checklistsJun 15-21: 28% of 773255 checklistsJun 22-30: 28% of 916255 checklistsJul 1-7: 29% of 717733 checklistsJul 8-14: 28% of 658223 checklistsJul 15-21: 28% of 638752 checklistsJul 22-31: 28% of 895727 checklistsAug 1-7: 29% of 655651 checklistsAug 8-14: 30% of 650038 checklistsAug 15-21: 31% of 654639 checklistsAug 22-31: 35% of 974928 checklistsSep 1-7: 40% of 765914 checklistsSep 8-14: 44% of 738674 checklistsSep 15-21: 46% of 750433 checklistsSep 22-30: 47% of 944196 checklistsOct 1-7: 48% of 760106 checklistsOct 8-14: 46% of 793131 checklistsOct 15-21: 44% of 728727 checklistsOct 22-31: 42% of 959954 checklistsNov 1-7: 39% of 709464 checklistsNov 8-14: 34% of 693424 checklistsNov 15-21: 33% of 653952 checklistsNov 22-30: 31% of 871137 checklistsDec 1-7: 30% of 627591 checklistsDec 8-14: 29% of 642427 checklistsDec 15-21: 30% of 775638 checklistsDec 22-31: 28% of 1132751 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Pooled across every state in the data, so it leans toward states with the most birders.

States, in order of first arrivals

StatePatternFirst arrivalsPeakMost gone byPeak %
NebraskaAll year, most in fallAug 8-14Sep 8-14Oct 22-3160%
DelawareAll year, most in fallSep 8-14Oct 1-7Nov 1-760%
WyomingWinter visitorJul 15-21Oct 22-31May 22-316.9%
MontanaWinter visitorJul 22-31Nov 8-14May 1-710%
South DakotaAll year, most in fallAug 15-21Sep 22-30Nov 22-3034%
North DakotaAll year, most in fallAug 22-31Sep 22-30Feb 15-2133%
New MexicoWinter visitorAug 22-31Oct 8-14Jun 1-71.3%
IdahoWinter visitorSep 22-30Oct 15-21Mar 8-142.0%
PennsylvaniaYear-round–Sep 22-30–77%
West VirginiaYear-round–Oct 1-7–77%
ConnecticutYear-round–Oct 1-7–74%
KentuckyYear-round–Oct 1-7–74%
MassachusettsYear-round–Oct 1-7–74%
OhioYear-round–Oct 1-7–73%
TennesseeYear-round–Oct 8-14–73%
District of ColumbiaYear-round–Oct 1-7–72%
MichiganYear-round–Sep 15-21–72%
MarylandYear-round–Oct 1-7–71%
MissouriYear-round–Oct 1-7–72%
IndianaYear-round–Oct 1-7–70%
IowaYear-round–Sep 15-21–69%
LouisianaYear-round–Sep 22-30–70%
New YorkYear-round–Sep 22-30–70%
VirginiaYear-round–Oct 8-14–70%
VermontYear-round–Sep 15-21–70%
ArkansasYear-round–Oct 1-7–69%
New HampshireYear-round–Sep 22-30–68%
MississippiYear-round–Oct 1-7–67%
AlabamaYear-round–Oct 1-7–65%
WisconsinYear-round–Sep 15-21–66%
GeorgiaYear-round–Oct 1-7–64%
MinnesotaYear-round–Sep 15-21–65%
Rhode IslandYear-round–Oct 8-14–64%
KansasYear-round–Sep 22-30–63%
North CarolinaYear-round–Oct 1-7–63%
OklahomaYear-round–Oct 8-14–61%
FloridaYear-round–Oct 1-7–60%
New JerseyYear-round–Oct 1-7–59%
South CarolinaYear-round–Oct 8-14–59%
MaineYear-round–Sep 22-30–57%
IllinoisYear-round–Sep 22-30–55%
TexasYear-round–Oct 1-7–42%
ColoradoYear-round–Oct 1-7–35%