Most birds, sparrows, flycatchers, thrushes and hummingbirds, migrate to lower elevations or fly to a new location in order to find the right food when winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. A few birds live year around even on the 7,000-foot Rim of Crater Lake. These resident birds, such as Steller’s and Gray Jays and the Clark’s Nutcrackers have learned how to collect and store food -mostly pine seeds. Up to 20,000 seeds have been observed in some storage snags. Seeds contain the fats, oils and proteins that the birds depend on to keep nourished during the long, cold winter.

The black raven survives the long winter by “commuting” between the higher and lower elevations, depending on the weather at Crater Lake.

Bits of bread, crackers, cookies or chips do not have the proper balance of the right nutrients for good bird health. When the Jays or Nutcrackers do fill up on human foods, many critical bird nutrients are missing. The birds can become sick and may die from malnutrition when they gorge up on human food. Though the Jays appear to be “begging” for your lunch, do not feed them.