Kinda Blue

The Blue Jays seem to have disappeared. They're not the nicest of birds, and they're certainly not the quietest, but I've grown accustomed to seeing (and hearing) them, and their absence is keenly felt. I've read that they tend to maintain a low profile during the mating and nesting that takes place in Spring — but in the ten years we've been here, I cannot recall the sense that they had completely vanished.