Blue Jays!

Recently, blue jays have started appearing all around my neighborhood. They don’t eat much bird seed, as far as I can tell, but they like nuts, berries, acorns, & insects. They’re pretty aggressive; they are always scaring the little birds (sparrows, mostly) out of their bush, or tree branch, or feeding spot.

The birdbath

'the bird bath in my yard'

Cardinals have become much more common at my bird feeder. They love the warm weather & the sunflower seeds. They also enjoy the bird bath in my yard. (Actually, I find that the bird bath is becoming more popular than the feeder.) The sparrows, house finches, robins, & cardinals visit it frequently, & angrily peck at it when I forget to fill it. The only birds that almost never come to it are the common grackles. I’ve only seen a Blue jay once this season, which is odd; previous years they’ve been quite common. I know they’re around though, I’ve heard their noisy calling in the trees in my neighborhood. Blue jays aren’t the kindest birds, they’ve been known for killing the eggs, adults, & young of other bird species, particularly western bluebirds, & taking over their nests.

Jay facts

"Blue Jay."

Blue jays are coming back to MN to mate & nest. They are extremely noisy. They have several different calls, including a call that mimics a Red-shouldered hawk. This call is used to warn other birds of the presence of a hawk or other raptor. Blue jays nest in April or May, & have 4-6 speckled eggs that can be pink, green, blue, or olive. Both male & female look after the young, until they leave at 3 weeks. The female can have several broods in a season. Blue Jays are monogamous – they mate for life. Blue Jays are known for stealing & eating other birds young, but in a study, only 1 percent of the birds did this.