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BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report

Cyanocitta stelleri carlottae
Steller's Jay, carlottae subspecies

 
Scientific Name: Cyanocitta stelleri carlottae
English Name: Steller's Jay, carlottae subspecies
   
Provincial Status Summary
Status: S3
Date Status Assigned: June 01, 1996
Date Last Reviewed: February 05, 2019
Reasons: Subspecies endemic to Haida Gwaii with a small population (likely <1,000 individuals) and restricted range, but relatively adaptable to modified habitat types and moderate threats (based on a completed threat calculator).  
 
Range
Range Extent: E = 5,000-20,000 square km
Range Extent Estimate (km2): 15,000 square km
Range Extent Comments: The subspecies has a very small range, restricted to lower elevations of Haida Gwaii (Campbell et al. 1997; Walker et al. 2016). Apparently absent from most of Moresby Island south of Cumshewa Inlet (C. Bergman, pers. comm.; Doyle unpubl. data; eBird 2017). Range extent is approximately 15,000 km2 (calculated from Google Earth).
Area of Occupancy Estimate (km2): 5,000 square km
Area of Occupancy Comments: Insufficient data to calculate. A rough approximation of area of occupancy is likely around 5,000 km2 (calculated from Google Earth) divided by a 4 square km grid is approximately 1,250 (4 square km grids).
 
Occurrences & Population
Number of Occurrences: DE = 81 to >300
Comments: Unknown, currently no element occurrences have been identified or mapped for the province (BC Conservation Data Centre 2017). Widespread on Graham Island, particularly at lower elevations; rarely encountered south of Skidegate Inlet (C. Bergman, pers. comm.; Doyle unpubl. data; eBird 2017; Thomas and Jardine 2015). Hearne (2006) considers the subspecies a common resident on Haida Gwaii, while Morris (2010) lists it as an uncommon resident.
Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: U = Unknown
Comments: Unknown, but once element occurrences are identified and mapped, likely less than a quarter of the element occurrences will have excellent or good viability.
Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: BC = 1 - 12
Comments: Most reported occurrences are outside of protected areas, but a few breeding areas are likely protected within Wildlife Habitat Areas on central Graham Island, Naikoon Provincial Park, and in the Tlall, Yaaguun Gandlaay, Kamdis and Nang Xaldangaas Heritage Sites/Conservancies.
Population Size: C = 250 - 1,000 individuals
Comments: Unknown, but the subspecies is uncommon within its range. In the breeding season between 2002-2012, Steller?s Jays were recorded at 0.677% of observation points (n=6,943) that sampled a variety of mostly low to middle elevation habitats across Graham Island, the eastern side of Moresby Island, and the larger islands of Gwaii Haanas (Doyle unpubl. data). Between 2010-2015, Steller?s Jays comprised 0.003% of recorded bird song samples (n=approx. 30,000) in low elevation habitats on small coastal islands of Gwaii Haanas (C. Bergman pers. comm.). The population of the subspecies is likely fewer than 1,000 individuals. Estimates are based on eBird and BC Bird Atlas reports and anecdotal birder observations familiar with the subspecies range.
 
Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected)
Degree of Threat: C = Medium
Comments: Habitat modifications from heavy browsing by introduced Sitka black-tailed deer have likely the greatest impact on the subspecies population by significantly reducing understory vegetation and the shrub layer across the archipelago and thus reducing potential nesting habitat as well as berry-producing shrubs for forage. Other introduced mammalian species may contribute to reduced breeding success through nest depredation (e.g., raccoon, red squirrel and rats). Somewhat threatened by habitat loss due to harvesting of coniferous forests. The subspecies is well-adapted to nesting in modified habitats that tend to be younger seral stands and shrubby areas that are often associated with edge habitats, human settlements and current forestry practices. The abundance and distribution of the subspecies is unclear, but its population is thought to be <1,000 individuals, and may be noticeably rarer on Moresby Island, particularly the southern part, than on Graham Island.
 
Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences)
Short-Term Trend: U = Unknown
Comments: Inadequate data for trend calculation. The subspecies is rarely encountered on Breeding Bird Surveys (Hearne 2006) and numbers of birds tallied on Christmas Bird Counts fluctuate greatly from year to year (Audubon CBC 2015).
Long-Term Trend: U = Unknown
Comments: Insufficient data to calculate a long-term trend. Combined Christmas Bird Count data for three Christmas Bird Count areas (Masset, Skidegate and Tlell) on eastern Graham Island suggest a stable, if not, a possible increasing trend for the subspecies during the period 1983-2015 (Audubon CBC 2015). However, inter-annual numbers showed large deviations, making any specific trend unclear.
 
Other Factors
Intrinsic Vulnerability: C=Not intrinsically vulnerable
Comments: The subspecies has breeding demographics that are typical of most medium-sized songbirds. Generally breeds at 2-3 years of age, but can breed younger and can live to at least 16 years of age. In northern California, over a 3 year period, 51-59% of pairs successfully fledged young (Walker et al. 2016).
Environmental Specificity: C=Moderate. Generalist or community with some key requirements scarce.
Comments: Relatively adaptive breeder, but does seem to require some degree of thick or shrubby understory associated with edge habitat (Walker et al. 2016).
Other Rank Considerations: None identified.
 
Information Gaps
Research Needs: Research temporal and spatial distribution of the subspecies related to changes in land use patterns on Haida Gwaii.
Inventory Needs: Confirm distribution of the subspecies, particularly in relation to occurrence in protected areas.
 
Stewardship
Protection: None identified.
Management: Once populations have been sufficiently inventoried, a status report on the subspecies should be prepared. Little is known of the biology of the subspecies. The breeding and foraging ecology of the subspecies should be studied and compared to that of other coastal populations. Accurate habitat inventory and mapping depends on identifying specific habitat requirements and developing species-habitat models. The long-term impact of introduced species and forest harvesting on population viability of the subspecies should be assessed.
 
Version
Author: M. Shepard and P. Chytyk
Date: March 09, 2017
 
References
American Ornithologists' Union. 1957. The American Ornithologists' Union check list of North American Birds, 5th ed., Baltimore, MD. 691pp.
Audubon CBC (Christmas Bird Count). 2015. Christmas Bird Counts: historical results by species. Available: http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/Historical/ResultsBySpecies.aspx?1. [Accessed 7 March 2017] 
Bergman, Carita. Personal Communication. PhD, Terrestrial Ecologist, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site 
Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall and G.E.J. Smith 1997. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 3, Passerines: Flycatchers through Vireos. UBC Press in cooperation with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. and B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 700pp.
Cannings, R.J. 1998. The Birds of British Columbia - a taxonomic catalogue. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch, Victoria, Wildl. Bull. B-86. 266pp.
Doyle, F. 2012. Excel spreadsheet of incidental bird observations detected from various research projects on Haida Gwaii between 2002 and 2012. Unpublished data. Smithers, B.C.
Doyle, F. 2012c. Electronic database of Skeena, Stikine, Kalum Goshawk Nest Locations 2012. Submitted in November 2012 to the CDC, BC Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC.
eBird. ND. eBird: an online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y.
Godfrey, W.E. 1986. The Birds of Canada, rev. ed. Natl. Mus. Can., Ottawa, ON. 595pp.
Greene, E., W. Davison, and M.R. Muehter. 1998. Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). in A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds. The Birds of North America, No. 343. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, PA, and Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, DC. 20pp.
Hearne, M. 2006. Small birds cling to bare branches: nesting songbirds of Haida Gwaii. Self-published, Masset, B.C. 
Morris, M. 2010. Checklist of the birds of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). Laskeek Bay Conservation Society, Queen Charlotte, B.C.
National Audubon Society. 2015. The Christmas Bird Count Historical Results [Online]. Available: http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/Historical/ResultsBySpecies.aspx?1. [Accessed 7 March 2017] 
Phillips, A. R. 1986. The known birds of North and Middle America: distribution and variations, migrations, changes, hybrids, etc. Part I, Hirundinidae to Mimidae, Certhiidae. Published by the author, Denver, Colorado. lxi + 259 pp.
Resource Inventory Committee. 1995. Standards for terrestrial ecosystem mapping in British Columbia: review draft. Ecosystems Working Group, B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC. 222pp.
Resource Inventory Committee. 1997. Standardized Inventory Methodologies for Components of British Columbia's Biodiversity: Forest and Grassland Songbirds, version 1.1. Prepared for the Resour. Inventory Comm., B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Victoria, BC. 20pp.
Thomas, I., and C. Jardine. 2015. Steller?s Jay in: Davidson, P.J.A., R.J. Cannings, A.R. Couturier, D. Lepage, and C.M. Di Corrado (eds.). The atlas of the breeding birds of British Columbia, 2008-2012. Bird Studies Canada, Delta, B.C. Available: http://www.birdatlas.bc.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=STJA&lang=en [Accessed 2 March 2017]
Walker, L.E., P. Pyle, M.A. Patten, E. Greene, W. Davison and V.R. Muehter. 2016. Steller?s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri).  The birds of North America (P.G. Rodewald, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. Available: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/stejay [Accessed 5 March 2017]
West, E.W. 1997. Element Global Ranking form for Steller's Jay - carlottae ssp. Unpubl. Rep. for the Nature Conservancy, Washington, DC.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2017. Conservation Status Report: Cyanocitta stelleri carlottae. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 4, 2025).