Had a blue jay scream at me for 10 minutes straight until I figured out its secret food trick

I've been trying to attract more blue jays to my feeder in Des Moines but they'd just fly away whenever I went near the window. Finally tried putting out whole peanuts in the shell instead of the mixed seed I was using and now they show up like clockwork at 7 AM. This one jay with a missing tail feather sits on the railing and screams until I come out and toss a handful. Anyone else have a bird that demands specific food like it's a restaurant order?

3 comments

3 Comments

craig.john6d ago

Ha! At least yours screams. Mine just poops on my truck until I pay the peanut tax.

jana_hart186d ago

Wait, does your jay actually do the cracking thing too, @jasonf17? A buddy of mine had a scrub jay that learned to open peanuts by watching a woodpecker on his suet feeder, but then it got so cocky it started dive-bombing his mailman for unsalted almonds. Took him three months and a whole bag of shell-on peanuts to get back on the "fed politely" list.

jasonf176d ago

You've got a point @craig.john, maybe screaming is better than a dirty truck. My jay is a real prima donna too, won't touch anything that isn't still in the shell. I have to crack a few just so the little guy can hear the snap before he flies down.