Im guessing thats it because the squirrels in my front yard have been using the boards on my front porch for sharpening their teeth. Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news. I bet it is the same reason the way scientists found out about this in the US and looked into it about 12 or 15 years ago was when homeowners called in to the local chapters of various birding organizations like Audubon Society. This led to a three-year study in which the scientists calculated that resident jays made 13,000 round trips from their woodlot habitat to the swamps vicinity over a 27-day period in September, dispersing 100,000 nuts to sites as far away as two and a half miles. We feed crushed eggshells to our chickens instead of grit. 'horticultural how-to and woo-woo' | margaret roach, head gardener. Maybe Google will know. It also depends on how hard they peck at the wood. From now on I will boil. Has anyone thought of hanging one of those calcium things that are used in bird cages I think theyre called cuttlebone? My alternate cap has a Baltimore Orioles logo. They have essentially destroyed a $3000 paint job. Unlike people, birds can't wipe off their face with a napkin after a meal. It used to be a jay referred to a person who was a chatterbox and liked to dominate the conversation, so Blue Jays definitely live up to their name. And the birds were highly selective when collecting green nuts from burs in the tree canopy. I host a public-radio podcast; I alsolecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden in normal years, and always say noto chemicals andyesto great plants. This pecking is mainly for nesting as well as catching insects that hide in trees. Blue jays. No birds like that it seems. Most of the nuts left beneath the trees were parasitized by insect larvae and worthless. It seems like it would sterilize them just as well as baking in an oven would, but Ive never seen official confirmation of that. I noticed my chickens, all two to them, seemed jumpy, hanging out in their run more, and not laying; all signs of stress. And yes, the juncos are on all my feeders, too. So interesting! Blue Jays will avoid an area they feel threatened in and a large plastic owl may be enough to make a Jay think twice about hanging around too long. They chose only sound, weevil-free seedsseeds that were likely to germinate into beech seedlings if a particular bird died, forgot the location of its nut stash, or failed to empty the cache during a mild winter. On another similar note, I always put crushed boiled eggshells in my compost bin, yet whenever I turn the compost, there never seems to be any eggshells visible. Ive never seen them do it (my heap is far from the house) but thats interesting, Mimimary. We have yet to have an issue with one of the girls eating their eggs. With its blue foliage and variety of shapes, blue atlas cedar earns its place in the sun. Why do woodpeckers peck on metal? This communication is called "drumming". A quick note for Vickie, Some brands of vermiculite have been found to contain asbestos, so check it out carefully before buying it. We have woodpeckers who use our siding to call rat-a-tat tat on their beaks make huge holes (argh for us homeowners), but their purpose is to make a loud and impressive sound to attract a mate. All kinds of forestsdeciduous, coniferous, mixed. I never even thought about birds going after them. It can only freak out Blue Jays, Steller's Jays, Florida Scrub Jays, California Scrub Jays, and Eastern Bluebirds. Blue jays are pretty birds.The most common call of a blue jay is a loud cry, often repeated over and over and usually described as thief thief thief. Watch this quick video to find out what blue and great tits are up to in your fruit trees. As I got closer I realized the clicking was coming from a large male Blue Jay, who seemed completely unbothered by my presence. Flexibility. Why science has failed to recognize that the intelligence of nature and our bodies is so deeply vast that it will keep science busy, forever is itself a bit daunting. (Photo courtesy of Paul Dacko) The bright blue hue of a blue jay can be an eye-catching sight set against the dreary, drab backdrop of winter. I enjoyed the topic and comments. A bluejay is acting very peculiar, like a woodpecker. However, a lot of homeowners consider these birds a nuisance because of the many inconveniences of the bird. . They can imitate the sounds of predators, and otherwise, their sounds range from lovely chirps in the morning to loud and obnoxious squawks. How the blue jays figured out the paint-chemistry connection seems to be unknown, as is how they knew those eggshells were on their grocery list. At supper that night, his children ask how old he was when he got his first gun. Cut the tape into long sections and hang it in the area where you're having the pecking problem. It is highly unlikely a Blue Jay would make an attack attempt at a full grown chicken, but they have been known to hunt and kill chicks, and raid nests for eggs, and harrass bakyard flocks. The noise or motion these objects make in the wind may fool your woodpecker into thinking a predator is near and deter them from coming any closer . Thoreau also portrayed the blue jays characteristic cry as an unrelenting steel-cold scream. Experts call it the jeer call, and its used for assembly and for mobbing predators (like my outdoor cats) and even human intruders. Posted by ; On Maj 26, 2022; Hoping so. If you find the pecking behavior annoying and you want it to stop, there are some things that you can do, depending on the reasons why blue jays are doing it in the first place. Thanks for another excellent piece. But when I was 10 or 11, he told me, I had a Benjamin pump-up pellet rifle, and my grandmother in Arkansas paid me a nickel for every blue jay I shot on her farm. Seven US states claim the Northern Cardinal as their state bird, but the Blue Jay is not recognized as a state bird in any US state. While birders may miss their company . We protect birds and the places they need. In fact, a lot of homeowners who recently had carpenter bees making holes in trees and decks around their property will soon notice blue jays pecking at woods around that area. The male woodpecker will find the loudest thing to drum on to attract a mate. Blue jays, however, are fast learners. Photo: Howard Arndt/Audubon Photography Awards, Great Egret. If a hawk is seen in the vicinity of a blue jay nest, the blue jays will do everything they can to drive the hawk away. When it comes to looks, blue jays are among the most beautiful birds. Blue Jays, like other birds, use their strong bills for cracking seeds, nuts, and acorns for food. You'll hear it most often in spring during the mating season. I put out eggshells, seed with calcium, etc. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. All kinds of birds, including the chickens the eggs came from, would quickly make off with the egg shells. Answer (1 of 8): The blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. This common, large songbird is familiar to many people, with its perky crest; blue, white, and black plumage; and noisy calls. The Compass is full of District news andgeneral interest nature stories, whileGet Going highlights the must-do programs for the coming week. We can all do this. Interesting subject, Thanks. A fence post or fencing post is a vertical element made of various materials like wood, See the following table which will help you to find Fence Post Spacing. I'm not saying that's what it is, but it is a possibility. When blue jays do hunt, they are aggressive and will raid other birds' nests, steal eggs, and kill young birds. The best thing about this idea is that it won't scare off other birds. Once a female Blue Jay chooses her mate, they are typically together for life in a monogamous relationship. I like the idea of putting out eggshells as an alternative. Needless to say, they lost.). 7 Reasons Why Blue Jays Might Peck at Wooden Structures, 1. Nature is continuously evolving, after all. I love them and would never want to lose them. Establishing Their Territory. Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes and Atlantic coasts, but much about their migration remains a mystery. At first it was hilarious and fun to watch. I am hoping all are fairing well without me but I bet they miss the peanuts I usually put out every day. Flock and Feather is for all the birdwatchers out there. But blue jays have a remarkable vocal array, including what I consider one of the prettiest songs in the bird world. While the blue jay is a year-round resident from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast and west to the far edge of the Great Plains, some of them migrate, though their numbers vary from year to year. And a few feet away, watching from a branch as the first bird chipped paint off a column on the porch, three companions cheered her on, as if awaiting their turns at bat. Planting oak trees will make acorns available for jays of the future. As you can see, this is a relatively rare behavior and its uncommon for blue jays to do so. Keeps woodpeckers from hammering the house, too. Reading all these great comments, I couldnt help but remember my childhood when my folks kept chickens. I wish I had a way to tell you to get them to leave your cat alone, but I don't. Good luck. Margaret, Drumming doesn't normally do much damage, except for chipping paint, but it sure can be annoying. The expandable throat and esophagus of a blue jay can hold up to five pin oak acorns or three larger ones from white oaks, and the bird typically collects one more nut in its bill before departing. An Individual Behavior from a Single Blue Jay. 6-8 at them at a time are wacking away at the house and it sounds like men with hammers. A trick of the light causes the blue color in their feathers. Instead, the blue appearance is a trick of science, an optical illusion of sorts. This beautiful blue jay visits frequently to feed, but takes the seeds to the roof to eat.. After all, blue jays are quite chatty and loud, which can deter other backyard birds away from your bird feeder. Google told me I was not the only one with this problem and was due to mating season. The pigment in Blue Jay feathers is melanin, which is brown. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. But as blue jay students Keith Tarvin and Glen Woolfenden note in their life history account for The Birds of North America project, All aspects of blue jay migration [are] poorly understood.. Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program. In the following section, well walk you through some of the most interesting ones: if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'birdwatchingpro_com-box-4','ezslot_2',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-birdwatchingpro_com-box-4-0');Blue jays are omnivores, which means that they can eat just about anything, whether its plant or animal matter. Audubons Top Priorities for the Arizona Legislature in 2023, In the Rockies, Human Activity Paves the Way for a Hybrid Bird Boom, 2023 Audubon Photography Awards Open for Entries, The Flight of the Spoonbills Holds Lessons for a Changing Evergladesand World, At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change, How Tribes Are Reclaiming and Protecting Their Ancestral Lands From Coast to Coast, The 2022 Audubon Photography Awards: Winners and Honorable Mentions, Help power unparalleled conservation work for birds across the Americas, Stay informed on important news about birds and their habitats, Receive reduced or free admission across our network of centers and sanctuaries, Access a free guide of more than 800 species of North American birds, Discover the impacts of climate change on birds and their habitats, Learn more about the birds you love through audio clips, stunning photography, and in-depth text. We learn something all the time, dont we? 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