Steller's Jays, aka Camp Robbers and by some (in error) "Blue Jays"

Steller’s Jays, aka Camp Robbers and by some (in error) “Blue Jays”

Steller’s Jays are an iconic Canadian bird. In fact, they are British Columbia’s official bird. Their raucous cry is often heard throughout the year in western Canada and the western United States.

The crested, black head and upper body is set on a dark blue body. Their blue color leads to them often being called Blue Jays in error.

blue jay algonquin park — Blue Jay in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada

The Blue Jay, another iconic jay, is found mainly in central and eastern Canada and the United States. It is the official bird of Prince Edward Island. Unlike the Steller’s Jay, the Blue Jay is mainly white with light blue crest, wings and back.

Steller’s Jays love bird seed. But they absolutely love sunflower seeds!

I love the cheerfulness of sunflowers growing around my yard. Their dark green foliage and big, bright yellow flowers bring joy to any garden.

But the added benefit of growing sunflowers is that you can eat the seeds. Or even better, you can let the birds eat the seeds.

When the sunflowers ripen as fall begins, the Steller’s Jays inevitably show up. They’re a lot of fun to watch and photograph.

I’ve photographed them with many different cameras, including my smartphone. Generally speaking, a smartphone isn’t that great unless you’re very patient and willing to wait without moving for long periods. That’s because you have to have to be close, and you have to have the camera open and ready to go.

Don’t waste time using the zoom function on a smart phone! It is digital zoom, which is completely useless. You can just crop the photo in your photo editing program to get the exact same results (or better).

But if you’re patient, you can get some really good results with a smart phone, especially if they’re feeding. The lenses and sensors used on today’s cellular phones are truly excellent, even if they don’t offer optical zoom. Note: optical zoom requires multiple lenses that can move toward or away from each other as well as focusing on the object. That simply isn’t possible in a slim frame like a cell phone.

I used my Franken-Nikon P520, a Canon 50D and my Canon 60D for photographing Steller’s Jays this past fall. (watch for a blog post about the “Franken-Nikon!”)

To get great photos of birds, speed really is essential. You need to capture the exact shot you want, before the bird moves.

This is a real challenge with a “megazoom” entry level like the P520. While it and its offspring have insane zoom capabilities (equivalent to a 24-100mm zoom lens), its focus is very slow when zoomed. As well, and definitely worse, the shutter delay is maddening. This means that the time between when you press the shutter release button and the bird flies a block away is… well… enough time for a bird to fly a block away!

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve managed to get plenty of pretty good bird shots with the 520, and it’s a handy one for a quick grab. But for regular shooting, a DSLR is a must. With the ability to shoot 5 frames a second, there’s just no comparison between my 60D and the P520.