Backyard Bystander: A Bully or a Beauty?
A couple of posts back I wrote how the resident red squirrel had chased away all the fox squirrels. Well, all it took was one large foxy squirrel to stand up to red’s territorial suppression and more foxys have arrived, including one adorable baby foxy. He reminds me of a Steiff animal. So cute!!!
Within the week another former visitor arrived: a Stellar Jay. This one sometimes has a pal accompany him, but mostly he is a loner.
At first he contented himself with birdfeeder gleanings on the ground and then got innovative as he coveted all those yummy seeds and peanuts the littles were enjoying.
Too large to perch on the feeder his attempts to perch were thwarted until he discovered he could cling to the sides and tiptoe around. It was like watching a cross between a mini pterodactyl and a blue ballerina, with the grace of a performing feathered monkey.
Having conquered the front birdfeeders, he now desired my office window feeder, the one dainty chickadees and finches gather at.
Watching JayJay tried to home in on the tiny portal was entertaining as he approached and backed off, flapping away in frustration.
Then one day, as I was reading on my napping bed, I heard a *whump* and there was JayJay in the window feeder, up close and personal chowing down. He filled the entire feeder space! Seeing him so close I could better study his features. That black crest with white eyebrows and soul patch combined with the Prussian blue body feathers makes him one good-looking bird.
Two weeks later JayJay is quite at home and has mastered all the feeders. He is not polished in his table manners. At all. He swishes and sifts through the feeder to find the perfect treat and gobbles down as much as he can, as fast as he can. He has earned the sobriquet of “Vacuum Guts.”
The dilemma is whether or not to encourage his visits. Some people consider Stellar Jays pests. Yes, they can be loud. And it is disturbing to learn they snack on bumble bees and hummingbirds. JayJay rarely squawks and arriving in fall he missed bee and hummingbird season. The little birds don’t seem frightened of him, as there are other feeders in the yard they can dine at.
Lively bird forum discussions are filled with suggestions to discourage Stellar Jays and yet, we have grown fond of JayJay. I might feel differently if he is still in residence when the bees and hummingbirds return in spring.
What are your thoughts on Stellar Jays?
Are they bullies or beauties to behold in the backyard?
