Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) stores 22,000 to 33,000 nuts of the whitebark pine in up to 2700 locations over an area of over 100 square miles, and REMEMBERS where almost 70% of them were placed.(it may be that it remembers ALL of the locations,but some landmarks may have moved)
let me repeat that:
22,000 to 33,000 nuts in 2700 locations over an area of over 100 square miles, and REMEMBERS!
The seeds are usually buried in a hole in the ground that the jay digs just before depositing the seeds. One to ten seeds are placed in the hole and the caches are scattered over a large area.
The hole is covered over and then a leaf, stone, twig, or scrap of litter is placed over the hole to camouflage it. The bird flies away and will not return to the hole until it is ready to retrieve the seeds.
How Birds Remember Cache Locations
Multiple experiments performed with captive birds in Russell Balda’s lab at Northern Arizona University have demonstrated they can remember caching locations by noting the positions of stones, shrubs, and other landmarks in the area.
In the wild, nutcrackers will fly directly to a cache location even if the ground, trees, and shrubs are covered with several feet of snow, dig down to the precise location of the seeds, and retrieve them.