Huntsville Nature Club learns about Algonquin Park’s Canada Jay study—one of the longest running in the world

Like the bird they came to hear about, this was a curious crowd. And so many showed up that they had to add extra chairs at the last minute.

No wonder—Alex Sutton was the guest speaker at the Huntsville Nature Club’s October meeting, there to talk about the Canada Jay, formerly the Gray Jay and affectionately called whiskey jack, a bird well-known to many who venture outdoors. It’s a ubiquitous species, found across much of Canada. Canadian Geographic recently lobbied to have it named our national bird.

Sutton, a University of Guelph graduate student, shared photos and findings of an ongoing study happening partially in our own backyard, in a presentation titled “Life on the Edge: What We Have Learned from the Canada Jays of Algonquin Park.”

The Canada Jay study in Algonquin Park has been ongoing since the 1960s, making it one of the longest-running studies of a marked vertebrate population in the world.

Sutton got quite a few laughs from the crowd of nature lovers as he recounted some of the difficulties the research team had when trying to find the birds. “Have you ever seen those lunatics (in the park) lugging ladders around with them? That’s us,” he joked, also noting that often they still found the birds nesting just out of easy reach.

In addition to ladders, snowshoes and snowmobiles are critical tools for the researchers during winter months as Canada Jays have an unusual breeding and nesting time compared to most other birds, laying and incubating their eggs during some of the coldest weeks of the year—late January to early March.

“It isn’t uncommon that the females are sitting on the nests covered in snow,” said Sutton. When asked if the males ever take a turn, he replied, “They do not, however, they will bring food to their partners,” to which more than a few in the crowd joked, “Isn’t that sweet of them?”

Some other methods of tracking the birds include leg banding to help identify individuals and radio telemetry, where a non-invasive wire is attached to the bird that enables the team to follow its movements and see where it travels. Whether individuals remain in our region or move on to other areas poses more questions as to why they choose to leave or stay.

Sutton placed large focus on the quality of food that the birds have available to them. Canada Jays are caching birds, stashing perishable food in crevices and behind flakes of bark to have it available during the cold winter months when they need it most. The research team noted that with climate change, the emerging pattern of freeze-thaw-freeze in late fall and winter appears to be having a negative impact on the quality of food that the birds rely on and, in turn, may be affecting their reproductive success.

This study is ongoing, along with many others, through the Wildlife Research Station in Algonquin Park, situated across from Mew Lake Campground. Find details online at www.algonquinwrs.ca and on Facebook here.

The next presentation of the Huntsville Nature Club is on November 27 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. Nature Club members are free to attend with their paid membership; the entry fee for guests is $5. The club meets on the last Tuesday of every month except in December and the summer. Learn more on their Facebook page here.

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