Pennsylvania · Year-round resident

Blue Jays in Pennsylvania

When blue jays are present in Pennsylvania, when they nest, which native Pennsylvania plants feed them, and how to host them in a USDA 5a–7b yard.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Status in Pennsylvania: Year-round resident
Nesting window: April–July
Broods: 1 per season (occasionally 2)
Hardiness zones: USDA 5a–7b

When to expect blue jays in Pennsylvania

Blue Jays live in Pennsylvania all year. Snow cover makes suet and heated water valuable; both chickadee species meet in a narrow hybrid zone across the south of the state. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward acorns and beechnuts, heavily cached in fall; peanuts, sunflower and suet at feeders.

Humid continental; cold, snowy winters in the north and mountains, milder in the southeast.

Nesting in Pennsylvania

Across Pennsylvania, blue jays typically nest from April–July. Nest site: open cup of twigs in tree crotches, usually 10–25 ft up. Females lay 2–7 eggs, incubate for 16–18 days, and young leave the nest after 17–21 days.

Warm summers; bluebirds typically raise two broods.

Blue Jays don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as winterberry, black cherry, white oak for nest sites.
Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after July.

Native Pennsylvania plants that attract blue jays

Of the regional native plants we track for Pennsylvania, these 4 provide food or cover blue jays use:

Winterberry

Ilex verticillata · Shrub

Winter fruit.

Black cherry

Prunus serotina · Tree

Summer fruit and a major caterpillar host.

White oak

Quercus alba · Tree

Acorns and insects.

Bur oak

Quercus macrocarpa · Tree

Drought-hardy prairie oak with large acorns and a heavy insect load.

Feeding blue jays through the Pennsylvania year

Jays carry several nuts at once in a throat pouch to cache. A dedicated peanut station reduces crowding at finch and chickadee feeders.

Best foods: Peanuts in the shell, Black-oil sunflower, Suet, Cracked corn.
In Pennsylvania's winter: Snow cover makes suet and heated water valuable; both chickadee species meet in a narrow hybrid zone across the south of the state.

Full diet breakdown for blue jays · Best feeder for blue jays

Frequently asked

Are blue jays in Pennsylvania year-round?

Yes. Blue Jays are year-round residents in Pennsylvania.

When do blue jays nest in Pennsylvania?

Nesting in Pennsylvania typically runs April–July, with 1 per season (occasionally 2). Clutches are 2–7 eggs, incubated for 16–18 days.

What native plants attract blue jays in Pennsylvania?

Winterberry, Black cherry, White oak, Bur oak are native plants in Pennsylvania that provide food or cover for blue jays.

Other backyard birds in Pennsylvania

Northern Cardinal Eastern Bluebird Black-capped Chickadee Carolina Chickadee Purple Martin Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker American Goldfinch Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch House Wren House Finch Purple Finch Ruby-throated Hummingbird Carolina Wren Mourning Dove American Robin Dark-eyed Junco White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Red-headed Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Common Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Baltimore Oriole Orchard Oriole Rose-breasted Grosbeak Evening Grosbeak Pine Siskin Common Redpoll Indigo Bunting Eastern Towhee Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Eastern Phoebe Chimney Swift Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Eastern Screech-Owl Wood Thrush Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird American Tree Sparrow House Sparrow European Starling Fox Sparrow

Sources

Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.