Feathered Friends: Party Of Blue Jays
Blue Jays gathering on the grass in the mornings while a dove wants in on the action despite the get outa here looks from the blue jays.
The blue jays are a constant to my back yard all year around while other birds only visit once in awhile. The blue jays are always waiting in the mornings for me to leave some bird seed, dry cat food or bread with peanut butter, out on the grass by the back deck.
Some days I leave a special treat of cashews or peanuts which the blue jays will make a dive for straight away before the squirrel or chipmunk can eat them.
The dove and squirrel join the blue jays on the back lawn.
The squirrel gets the look from the jay.
The blue jays are not impressed with the squirrel or dove at their grass party or sharing their morning meal.
Neither the dove or squirrel are driven away by the looks the blue jays give them. They stand their ground and all of them have something to eat.
Although these blue jays are on snow covered grass, I wanted to show a party of them in winter.
Now the snow has melted and warmer weather on the horizon, the birds and squirrel will not be so dependant on me to leave food outside for them. There will be berries and insects for them to feast on. The squirrel also eats cones from the trees all year long and stores them for winter but he likes people food also.
Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T6
All photos are mine
All Rights Reserved unless with my permission
This is my entry to @nelinoeva’s feathered friend contest for BIRD IN GRASS. Check Here for more information.
Banner created by @barbara-orenya
Banner created by @barbara-orenya
This is a real party for birds and squirrels 😀
Thank you for your entry!
Most welcome Neli @nelinoeva
Terrific post and photos Jo!! I wish the Blue Jays here were a bit nicer as they are a beautiful bird and I do enjoy seeing them. I still hear them and only see them occasionally but they sure are fast and hard to catch unless they stop for food. The Starlings get into the outside cats dry food if they don't eat it all and there are lots more of them than the Jays. I love that you added the photo of them in the snow! The contrast of the blue against the white is beautiful! Good luck in the contest! 💕
Tip
Thanks Dee. The Blue Jays seem to stay in. The forest or trees. I never see them along the roadside like the crows. No starlings yet but the 2 grackles have returned to have their babies in one of the cedar tree we planted along the driveway . They are conical shape with dense foliage so the nest is well hidden and I can’t get photos of the babies.
I’m glad you like the photo of the blue jays in the snow.
Have a wonderful day.💕
You're very welcome Jo! 💕
Fantastic photos of your Jays! It was so odd this winter not to have them around, but mine all vanished and have only now returned. I guess they went on winter holiday to someplace warm.
Thanks! 🌸It is strange your Jays weren’t around in the winter Melinda @melinda010100.That is when I see them more than usual. One winter day I counted and there were over a dozen on the snow pecking at the food. Maybe your Jays came North. :)
I had more of them during the summer and fall than I had ever seen, but then none. They went somewhere! It is the first time I didn't have any all winter. I'm glad they are back.
That's such a nice intense blue colour they have - ours here are not that intense coloured.
Having them around paints some colour on your back yard, Jo, that looks especially nice on the white snow 😄
!BEER and !WINE and !PIZZA - perfect 😃
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Hi Hannes,
I do love seeing the blue jays. They stand out nicely with their size and color, although they don’t like to share. I think that’s part of the mind set of critters. I did see the normally gentle dove make a quick gesture towards one of the jays. He was not going to be bullied. :)
The days have been beautiful but still cool at night. Soon I will be complaining it’s too hot. ☀️🌅
Thanks dear Hannes for the reblog and your kind generosity. 🤗
Wishing you a beautiful Wednesday.☀️
Good morning Jo,
yep, watching the behaviour of animals is sometimes very entertaining and I often compare them to people I know... 😎
I think we have about the same weather. In the morning it's been cool in the last few days at about 3 degrees C, but during the day it gets very warm in the sun ... yesterday I have already heard a colleague moaning about the heat, but it was only fun 🤣
I wish you also a wonderful Wednesday, dear Jo 🤗🌞
!PIZZA with !BEER or with !WINE - both make a nice dinner :)
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Morning Hannes, 😊
The animals are entertaining to watch. Last night before dark I saw the raccoon checking to see if any food left. He wandered off to the forest a little disappointed. I know he is a rascal but I put some bread with peanut butter out and I saw he came back later to eat it. I took some photos but it was getting too dark for them to turn out good.
Right now I see the blue Jays are outside the kitchen window wondering why I haven’t put their breakfast out yet. :). They are smart when they want something. They know if I see them it will remind me to put their food out. Between the outside critters and the two inside cats, I’m a slave to the animals. LOL
We seem to have about the same weather- cool at night but warming up nicely during the day.
I’m enjoying the pizza and beer.🍕🍻
Good morning Jo,
if you feed the raccoon he might not think of destroying anything because he doesn't need to search for food at places where he shouldn't 😉
Well, the animals know you very well 😁 I’m a slave to the animals - don't say that you don't like it 😂
I wish you a nice and warm Wednesday, dear Jo 🤗🌞
So, if you're enjoying !PIZZA and !BEER I'm sending you some more :)
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BEER.Blue jays are such colourful birds the doves on the ground I have on average six a day enjoying the berries falling along with nibbling in the lawn, not sure what they find since it's nowhere near the seed feeder.
Squirrels are entertaining, quite brazen in making an approach to get his fair share too!
I see the doves in the back lawn when they pick at the bird seed there but they are sometimes at the front of the house picking at something along the driveway. I don’t know what they like there.
The squirrel is a brazen critter and sometimes too brave for his own good. I saw one yesterday with most of his tail missing so they have been fighting amongst themselves.
Such nerves for those blue rays.
I mean aren't they afraid of the squirrel.
Just look at that angry one staring at the squirrel hahaha.
Nice of you to always leave them food.
Thanks @zanoz. 🌺 I’ve seen the blue jays sweep down and try to scare the squirrel away from the food. They don’t seem to be afraid of him and always give him the evil eye. :)
Hahahah, yeah that evil eyes
The dove kind of reminded me a little bit of that movie Fried Green Tomatoes, The look back at the Blue jays seem to be saying I'm bigger badder and have more insurance than you. And the squirrel turning around to tell the blue jays to kiss my ###. Nice pictures.
Haha @bashadow. Now that you mentioned it, I see the photo where it looks like the squirrel is saying, “Kiss my rear-end.”
Yes the dove doesn’t take any crap from the jays. I’ve seen it make a quick gesture towards one of the blue jays as if to say, “ Don’t get me started.”
Hello there @redheadpei, those blue jays in the snow really shows their colors. We have trouble with the dang squirrels eating the bird food. They just chase the birds out and fill up their joules, but if the blue jays are there, they tend to wait their turn. The jays can be aggressive. Nice post.
Enjoy the day!
Thanks @farm-mom. 🌸 Yes the jays are aggressive and will keep the naughty squirrel in line. I have the most trouble with the raccoon when I put the hummingbird feeder out. If I don’t bring it in every night the coon will destroy the feeder trying to drink the sugared water.
That's funny, for some reason we have never had or scene a raccoon on our farm. I saw more of them when we lived in the suburbs of North Jersey. Weird.
This one used to come by in the evening with it's mother. Now it's alone and checks every evening to see if any food left. I left some bread with peanut butter for him. He eats it and wanders back to the woods.
Not a good photo through the back deck railing as it was dusk. Rocky is a good size now.
Wow that's awesome My mother-in-law was a real animal lover, she would buy cookies for the raccoon and hand feed them. No joke, I am actually afraid of them.
This raccoon is very young. He used to come by with it’s mother. Perhaps she was the one I saw killed on the highway a couple weeks ago. I know this one by the color as he has quite a bit of white in the fur.I saw it last night coming by for some bread and peanut butter. He was looking around for some dry cat food but I didn’t put any out with the rain. He searched the ground for awhile and then sauntered off into the forest. With fur wet I could see he is actually quite small.
I don’t think a raccoon would ever attack you unless it had rabies. Most are afraid of us.
Well that’s nice to know, I always thought I they were aggressive, I guess they got a bad rap😊
Gosh those are such pretty coloured birds!!! I love that the squirrels eat with them even if they don't want to share lol Nice pics @redheadpei
Thanks Andy @andysantics48. 🌺 The blue jays do add a nice color to the landscape, especially in winter. The squirrel seems to eat okay with the birds but let another squirrel come on the scene and they will chase one another. They are very territorial against another of their own kind.
I love how accepting these little animals are to each other as they eat the food. I see it here with the the different times of birds and when Jack the Collie dog visits. He has learned to sit and wait while I feed any visiting magpie or butcher bird before he gets his little bit of mince. Marley the bulldog taught him very well when he first visited our home.
It’s surprising Jack the Collie doesn’t give chase to the birds Angie. He was taught well by Marley. I often see a variety of birds and the squirrel together as they chow down. The chipmunk keeps clear of the squirrel and visits when no one else here.
Nice pretty Blue Jays birds photography.
Thanks @kamrunnahar.🌸
I love the vibrant blue color of the jays. We also have many of them that come to our feeder. The bluejay is usually chasing away any other birds that are already in the feeder. Once they are eating, most birds will fly off and wait until the bluejay has had its fill and flies away.
To my complete surprise, the only bird that the bluejay cowers to is when a cardinal decides it's time to eat.
Just yesterday I witnessed just that, the cardinal flew in, the jay flew off, and sat on the fence watching and waiting until the cardinal flew off.
Good for the cardinal giving the bluejay a little taste of its own medicine.
Yes the jays are beautiful and think they have first crack at the food. I do spoil them because they are always here. Winter and summer. I saw a lovely brown-headed cowbird eating with them today. They didn’t seem to mind him.
I know there are cardinals on the Island but I haven’t seen one in this part. Not many birds can scare a jay off but I’ve seen the dove stand his ground and make a gesture towards them.
I've had a bluejay dive bomb me. Unknowingly, I was passing right under a nest full of babies. Every time I took that route, I was aggressively warned that they didn't want me in the vicinity.
After getting dive-bombed several times, the light went on. From a safe distance I scoped out the area and I realized that I was passing under a nest that had to be less than 10 feet off of the ground.
I thought maybe they just didn't like me. 😁
I’ve heard of this before. @deerjay and @dswigle both mentioned having been dive bombed by a blue jay when the nest was nearby.
Maybe I will walk down into the forest and see if I can walk under their nest to see what they do. They should know better than to dive bomb the head that feeds them. :)
The mother in them only sees you as a blip on their radar screen.
Incoming!! incoming!!
Haha, as long as they don’t poop on my head.
Haha! From your lips.... :))
@farm-mom has coined a phrase up here on the farm. She speaks it so often, our daughter had the slogan printed on some T-shirts. Whenever she thinks there is even the slightest chance of someone getting hurt she says, "Wear Your Helmet". My advice @redheadpei would be to follow that advice before going out to locate the bluejay's nest. 😁
Your wife is wise @thebigsweed. A helmet would be handy. :)
Good morning, Jo!
I have always been drawn to the color and pattern of Bluejays, but, especially in the winter living in New England. The Bluejay and Cardinals always colored the landscape there, along with many more varieties, but, at the time, everything else (it seemed) migrated south for the cold winters.
Is it me, or do fewer birds migrate? Even the Canadian Geese stick around all winter. I just realized I was talking about birds and threw the geese in there. eyeroll
The Bluejays used to be very territorial and once I got caught up in a pine tree trying to spy on a bird nest and was divebombed by a pair of Bluejays. Whoops!!
I love your post. Mother Nature provides some interesting sights.
Thanks so much Denise.🌺 Mother Nature always provides something or some critter to photograph and write about. Yesterday a brown-headed cowbird paid a visit.
I’ve heard stories of blue Jays dive bombing others here on Hive, such as, @deerjay and @thebigweed. They are protective if you are anywhere near their nest.
The geese will stay all winter if there is a food supply for them.
How cute the little goslings and the mother goose.🦆
I love the cowbirds and haven't seen one in my area here, so not sure if they come down this south.
They are one of the noisiest, most overprotective birds I have ever seen. But, they are so beautiful, it is forgiven. Nobody feeds the geese here, but, the water doesn't freeze so they may get enough to eat here.
I think all of the birds/ducks are adorable. I don't know why people always grumble about the geese. :))
How are you dear friend @redheadpei good day
What protectors of their territory are these beautiful birds. Excellent shots congratulations
Thank you very much for showing us this beautiful collection of photographs
have a nice day
Thanks dear friend @jlufer,🌸
These Blue Jays are great protectors of the back lawn.
I am well and hope you are also.
Have a wonderful day!
Party indeed @redheadpei. That photo of the blue jays on the snow though! Such a striking contrast. We don't have them here in SA but what a beautiful and inquisitive looking bird
Hi @buckaroobaby.🌸 Thanks for stopping by. I’m happy you liked the blue jays in the snow.
It seems there is enough food for all of them, so they look really relaxed mixed together. 🦅
Nice entry, @redheadpei
Thanks @zorank and for stopping by. I try to put enough food out especially in the winter to keep the birds healthy. They do seem to get along quite well.