Attracting Bluejays
Attracting Blue jays to your yard can be very entertaining. It is all about peanuts which is a favorite of this beautiful and amazing bird. The photo on the left is of a particular Blue jay who with the rest of its family, likes to visit our feeders and bird baths daily.
Not only do we fill our platform feeder with mixed bird seed containing nuts, but we also put unsalted peanuts on our deck railing so that we can watch them fly in to fetch one for its meal. We use unsalted peanuts because salt is not really good for the bird’s diet.
We scatter the peanuts on the railing close to us as we are sipping our morning coffee and wait for their arrival. Then all of a sudden here come the Blue jays flying and squawking as they fly into the river birch tree that sits right in front of our deck railing. A few will then fly to the feeder nearby but one decides to brave it and come in closer to steal a peanut, of course watching us all the way. He hops in closer and closer and then flies in quickly, grabs his peanut, then flies off to a nearby tree to peck at it with it’s beak until it gets the peanut out.
A few minutes later he’s back again doing the same routine as the first time. He steals another peanut and he’s gone. We watch this bird fly in and take every single peanut from the railing. One time the blue jay wasn’t sure if there was anything in the shell and it shook it with its beak. It was empty and it left it on the ledge.
Why is the one bird taking every peanut for himself and what is he doing with them? We think he is hoarding them for himself . In fact we have watched the blue jay take a peanut from the deck then fly down to the grass below and hide it. He marks the spot with a leaf, pecking at the leaf so it doesn’t blow away. The funny thing is that there are other leaves in the grass that look just like that one. Yet, a day or two later along comes the blue jay and grabs that same peanut. Pretty smart bird if you ask me.
The Blue Jay is a Favorite of Mine
As you can tell I love the blue jays. Between their interesting behaviors, their loud squawking calls, and their beauty, they are wonderful to have in my backyard. If you want some entertainment while you are relaxing outside, put some peanuts out and see what happens. Just make sure they are unsalted.
Do you like the blue jay? Tell me about your experiences with them in the comments below. I would love to hear them.
Happy Birding!
Donna