It’s shocking to me that some individuals don’t take pleasure in seeing Blue Jays of their yard. They assume they’re “bullies” and are too noisy, aggressive, and messy. I couldn’t disagree extra.
I like attracting Blue Jays to my yard!
They’re one among my favourite birds to look at due to their array of vocalizations (do you know jays imitate hawks?), intelligence, magnificence, and total temperament. Anyhow, in the event you don’t like Blue Jays, that is most likely not the submit for you. 🙂
Over the subsequent 10 minutes, I’m going to share with you 4 completely different methods you’ll be able to implement to draw Blue Jays to your yard.
Technique #1: Discover fowl feeders that Blue Jays can use.
Blue Jays are considerably bigger when in comparison with most different songbirds that go to your feeders. From invoice to tail, Grownup Blue Jays vary in dimension from 9 inches to 12 inches lengthy. Their weight is usually between 2.5 to three.5 ounces.
For comparability, Black-capped Chickadees common 5 inches in size and weigh about half an oz.. Goldfinches are comparable in dimension and weight to chickadees. Northern Cardinals are fortunate to be 9 inches lengthy and sometimes weigh practically half the quantity of a Blue Jay.
These details are vital when contemplating the kind of fowl feeders you dangle in your yard. If you wish to appeal to Blue Jays, you want to be sure to have no less than one feeder that’s giant sufficient to attraction to them.
Many fowl feeders are designed to solely attraction to the extra widespread, smaller songbirds. Tube feeders are an awesome instance. Blue Jays have a tough time becoming their our bodies onto the smaller perches to feed!
Blue Jays favor feeders that present giant, open surfaces.
They like being able to maneuver and leap round, trying to find the most effective items of meals to take with them.
For instance, the fowl feeder I personal that pulls Blue Jays the most effective is my tray feeder. I’ve the feeder sitting on the bottom, nevertheless it’s versatile and can be hung or completely mounted to a pole. View the video under to see my tray feeder (made by Woodlink) feeding Blue Jays!
Woodlink 3 in 1 Tray Feeder View Right now’s Value
Different feeders that work effectively at attracting jays are sure hopper feeders, platform feeders, and peanut feeders. If all else fails, simply throw meals on the bottom! Belief me; the jays gained’t thoughts. 🙂
Technique #2: Supply Blue Jays their favourite meals!
Now that you’ve got a fowl feeder that Blue Jays will use, it’s time to fill it with their favourite meals!
Within the wild, Blue Jays eat quite a lot of meals. The checklist consists of nuts and seeds (particularly acorns), fruits, invertebrates, and infrequently nestlings and eggs.
However at your feeders, there are a number of widespread meals that jays can’t resist.
My three favourite meals that appeal to Blue Jays embody:
- Sunflower seeds: It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s black-oil sunflower (A) or striped sunflower (B), nor whether or not the sunflower seed is within the shell (C) or out. Blue Jays love consuming sunflower! View $ on Amazon
- Peanuts: Jays eat peanuts each within the shell and out. Actually, they’re one of many few birds that may crack open a tough peanut shell. It’s plenty of enjoyable to look at Blue Jays come to my feeding station and fly off with a mouthful.
- Corn: Jays will eat cracked corn or the entire kernel. I’d like to know what number of kernels they will match of their mouth and throat sac. I’ve counted a single fowl take no less than ten at one time!
I hope it’s evident that to draw Blue Jays, you’ll want to mix Technique #1 and #2. For instance, in the event you set out a mixture of sunflower, peanuts, and corn, however you set the meals right into a fowl feeder that’s too small, the jays can’t match on the feeder and gained’t have the ability to eat something.
Technique #3: Create a pure habitat in your yard.
Due to their intelligence and massive character, Blue Jays are one of the crucial attention-grabbing and entertaining species that I take pleasure in watching. It’s enjoyable seeing them at our feeders, however I additionally like observing them mobbing birds of prey, imitating hawks, and flying backwards and forwards throughout our swamp.
If you would like Blue Jays interested in your yard for causes apart from the meals you present, then you want to create a habitat they WANT to go to.
Blue Jays are naturally forest birds, and huge timber present them shelter and locations to nest. If you’re not fortunate sufficient to reside close to the woods, then I’d advocate planting some native timber and shrubs in your yard.
Planting oak or beech timber is an effective way to draw Blue Jays.
It is because acorns and beechnuts are a necessary a part of their weight-reduction plan. And for my part, each of those timber are additionally stunning additions to any panorama.
For a whole checklist of timber, shrubs, and different crops which can be native to your space and appeal to Blue Jays, try the under search software from the Nationwide Audubon Society:
Technique #4: Present water all yr lengthy!
A number of individuals dangle up fowl feeders of their yards. However for various causes, not many individuals resolve to supply water for birds in a fowl bathtub. And people who do sometimes don’t hold the water recent or clear.
That is unlucky. 🙁
Blue Jays want recent water to drink every day and love splashing round in a fowl bathtub. Significantly, discovering water is a matter of life and loss of life for birds, particularly when the climate drops under freezing and plenty of pure water sources are frozen.
Remaining Ideas and Conclusion
I feel Blue Jays can get a nasty popularity as a “bully” fowl. It’s true they will scare away different birds on the feeder, however sometimes they eat peacefully alongside everybody else.
As I plan out the meals and feeders that I take advantage of at my fowl feeding station, I ensure to consider tips on how to appeal to Blue Jays. They may all the time be one among my favourite birds!
To summarize the most effective methods to draw Blue Jays to your yard, ensure to supply their favourite meals (sunflower, corn, peanuts) on giant and open feeders, present a constant water supply, and have close by native timber. In case you observe the following tips, you should not have any drawback attracting these feisty, sensible, and delightful birds!
What ideas do you will have for attracting Blue Jays?