Bluejays

Blue jays belong to the Corvidae family native to North America.
The corvidae family also includes crows, magpies, rooks, jackdaws, and nutcrackers and others (up to 100 varieties).
This family of birds have been found in fossils about 25 million years old.


Blue jays can be 30 cm. long and its brilliant blue colour is sometimes a trick of the light.
Males and females are very similar in appearance. 
A surprised blue jay will point its crest forwards, while a frightened blue jay has its crest bristled out.


Their diet consists of fruits, nuts, grains, and insects.  They certainly love the peanuts and other tidbits we put out for them.
You can certainly recognize their loud call as they approach the feeders.

 

We have an old mailbox that has been converted into a feeder. What a great place to leave peanuts for the bluejays.

As soon as the peanuts go into the mailbox those bluejays arrive from nowhere and everywhere. I'm sure they have one on watch all the time and it sends out that loud squawk that says "peanuts have arrived".

 

It is fascinating to watch them swoop in and land inside the box, choose their peanut and fly off to a close by tree to enjoy their feast.

This mailbox feeder is a busy place in the garden all year round. Other birds and squirrels have been known to visit the mailbox feeder as well.

 

Besides lots of peanut shells, the bluejays will often leave me something worth picking up ... a feather or two.

Here are some of the bluejay feathers I have saved over the years. I also have a lot of other bird feathers that I can not resist picking up and saving.

See some other birds that visit the gardens.

Lots of birds visit the garden in winter.

 

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