Find out what Project FeederWatch is, its history, and more
Find out how you FeederWatch, when you can FeederWatch, and what you'll need to do to get started
Review these instructions carefully before you count and enter data
Find out about types of feeders and types of foods, and where to place your feeder
Feeding Birds FAQs
Explore the winter distribution, food, and feeder preferences of common feeder birds.
Find out about color and plumage variations, bald heads, and deformed bills
Unusual Birds Gallery
Find out about bird disease and identifying the signs of bird disease
Sick Birds Gallery
Find out how to identify birds and download identification tools
Learn how to help birds as they seek out food sources, nesting habitat, protection, and more
Find educational resources for teachers, group leaders, and families
Find an article archive packed with lots of great bird study information
Learn about house finch eye disease
Review content from current and past BirdSpotter photo contests
Keep up to date with the latest FeederWatch happenings
These are exemplary FeederWatchers!
Send us your photos! Show us your count site, your birds, or you watching your site with loved ones!
Visit our live FeederWatch feedercams!
Cornell Lab of Ornithology feeders
Ontario (winter only)
See what birds occur the most by region
Explore species by state/province
See where FeederWatchers are
Graphs of regional population trends and distributions
Explore papers that have used FeederWatch data
Lab scientists analyze the data submitted by FeederWatch participants.
See birds well outside their winter range submitted to Project FeederWatch.
Start here for data entry and personal data review and exploration
Keep live track of your counts using the FeederWatch mobile app
Kim Tryka
Rockville, MD, United States
This blue jay seems to have lost all of its tail feathers. It appears otherwise healthy, and seemed to have no trouble flying from the trees in my yard to the ground to get the peanuts I was tossing.
Other
Tag:
I seem to have lost something...
That’s a lucky blue jay. Having no tail feathers is usually caused by a fright molt, which is when a bird’s tail feathers all fall out at once when a predator grabs it’s tail and the bird is able to get away.
My dog got a blue jays tail feathers and it hopped to some sticker bushes and got stuck we got it out and have it in a cage because it can’t fly or help itself. how can we help it? At least until it can fly again and go back to the wild
Thank you for this question and answer. I just saw one at my bird feeder. He is lucky indeed!
I have one and asked GOOGLE. This is one of the sites. Thanks🐦
I just saw a lucky blue jay in my back yard but he looked a little thin to me!
I saw a Jay today with absolutely no tail feathers. A bit concerning because the chest feathers were either dirty or wet so she seemed disheveled. I came on line to see if it was possibly a baby Jay.
I have a very healthy-appearing fledgling blue jay with no tail feathers at my feeders…….believe he/she is one of the “lucky” ones. Her looks are quite endearing!
I’m in Manitoba and I have a lucky Bluejay visit my feeder daily, my reasoning was correct, I figured he’d lost them to a predator !!
My main blue jay lost its tail feathers. He was the one that waited for the peanuts. When I threw them out He would get the others to eat. They would all wait until everyone came and then it was war 🙂 But the main guy seems all by himself now? I am sad for him. The others come at a different time.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.