Wyoming · Year-round resident

Blue Jays in Wyoming

When blue jays are present in Wyoming, when they nest, which native Wyoming plants feed them, and how to host them in a USDA 3a–5b yard.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Status in Wyoming: Year-round resident
Nesting window: May–July
Broods: 1 per season (occasionally 2)
Hardiness zones: USDA 3a–5b

When to expect blue jays in Wyoming

Blue Jays live in Wyoming all year. Cold, very windy winters. 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.

Semi-arid high plains and basins with major mountain ranges; most towns lie above 5,000 ft.

Nesting in Wyoming

Across Wyoming, blue jays typically nest from May–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.

Short, warm summers with cool nights.

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

Native Wyoming plants that attract blue jays

Of the regional native plants we track for Wyoming, these 2 provide food or cover blue jays use:

Bur oak

Quercus macrocarpa · Tree

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

Gambel oak

Quercus gambelii · Tree

Acorns for jays and woodpeckers across the southern Rockies.

Feeding blue jays through the Wyoming 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 Wyoming's winter: Cold, very windy winters.

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

Frequently asked

Are blue jays in Wyoming year-round?

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

When do blue jays nest in Wyoming?

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

What native plants attract blue jays in Wyoming?

Bur oak, Gambel oak are native plants in Wyoming that provide food or cover for blue jays.

Other backyard birds in Wyoming

Black-capped Chickadee Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker American Goldfinch White-breasted Nuthatch House Wren House Finch Mourning Dove American Robin Dark-eyed Junco Song Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Northern Flicker Red-headed Woodpecker Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Common Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Evening Grosbeak Pine Siskin Common Redpoll Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Kingbird American Tree Sparrow House Sparrow European Starling Steller's Jay Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay Black-billed Magpie Canada Jay Mountain Chickadee Bushtit Juniper Titmouse Pygmy Nuthatch Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Lesser Goldfinch Cassin's Finch Spotted Towhee Mountain Bluebird Say's Phoebe White-crowned Sparrow Fox Sparrow Violet-green Swallow Black-headed Grosbeak Lazuli Bunting Bullock's Oriole Eurasian Collared-Dove

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.