The blue jay debate: are they bullies or just misunderstood?

I've been watching my feeder for three years now, and I keep hearing people say blue jays chase away all the smaller birds. But here's what I noticed: when the jays show up, the chickadees and titmice actually wait on the nearby branches and come right back after the jays leave. Last Tuesday I counted 4 jays at once, and the finches just moved to the other side of the feeder. So are they really aggressive, or are we just reading too much into normal bird behavior? I've got a friend in Ohio who swears jays ruined her backyard birding, but my experience says they just eat and go. What do you all think, is the reputation earned or exaggerated?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake9865d ago

Oh come on, you're making excuses for them. I've watched blue jays literally dive-bomb mourning doves that are five times their size, they're bullies through and through.

janarivera5d ago

Fair enough @jake986, you got me. Used to think they were just noisy but yeah, that changes my mind.

martinez.kim5d ago

Blue jays really do have that bully energy huh @janarivera, I've seen it too lol.