to lure the elusive bluejay? Since they are carnivores, after all. But they've come to my feeders nonetheless. Thoughts?
2007-12-23 19:46:20 · 6 answers · asked by ? 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
Mark: there is a glorious specimen living in a tree across the street from me and he (who knows the gender) comes from time to time to enjoy the feeder. I am lucky, I know. And how I revel in this wicked bird's presence. (For they predate nests....et. al.) If I ever get a picture, I'll post it.
2007-12-23 21:30:44 · update #1
Nice to know that there are other crazy bird feeders here; I wonder why we don't have a category of our own???
Anyway... I have Steller's Jays here (western Washington state), and they LOVE peanuts, shelled or unshelled. They also love dry cat food - small-sized bits (like Purina indoor blend or Kitten Chow) are best. Meal worms work well, too, as does suet, especially the "bug bites" that Wild Birds Unlimited sells, or similar products with insects in the mix.
Be sure NOT to feed peanuts during nesting season; they will stuff the poor babies full of them, and the babies can't handle it and die :-( During that time, stick with cat food or meal worms.
I used to live in Texas, and the bluejays there loved all of the above; in Colorado I had scrub jays and grey jays, and now I'm feeding Steller's here in Washington; so far they've all responded to peanuts, meal worms, and/or suet.
Enjoy!
2007-12-24 14:59:18 · answer #1 · answered by crazeecatlady 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Here in Central New Jersey, I had lots of bluejays show up in my backyard after planting rows of sunflowers last summer. I bought the regular "Russian Mammoth" variety from Walmart along with a few packets of fancy varieties that had many heads - some varieties included Moonwalker and Lemon queen.
2007-12-25 00:08:14 · answer #2 · answered by Elizabeth 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Check this link:
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/bluejay.htm
Sunflower seeds attract Blue Jays - it is one of their favourites.
The blue jay is omnivorous. It eats fruits, acorns, seeds, nuts, insects, mice and frogs. Sometimes a blue jay will raid a nest for eggs and young birds. When a blue jay eats nuts, it holds the nut with its feet and cracks it open with its bill. The blue jays is a seed spreader. It often buries food to eat later. Some seeds and nuts are never recovered and grow into trees and other plants!
2007-12-24 03:55:27 · answer #3 · answered by Comp-Elect 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Blue Jays used to be one of the most aggressive birds at a bird feeder. I remember them being almost a nuisance, along with red bellied woodpeckers. Apparently West Nile Virus has decimated their population, at least in my area. I rarely see or hear one any more. They used to love sunflower seeds.
http://www.realindy.com/bluejays.htm
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/05/16/west_nile_virus_decimates_suburban_birds/
2007-12-24 04:54:30 · answer #4 · answered by Mark T 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In pennsylvania..I have a farm. Its a beet farm The beet seed is the superior seed. Although there are basically two school of thought..beets are best...but I use them for crow. Once I shot a vampire crow but by the time I found it, it had reverted back to my neighbor's cockateel. Its kind of a challenge. I dont think you can handle it.
2007-12-24 14:41:33 · answer #5 · answered by DwightTheDragon 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They love dried Peanuts and Sunflower seeds!
2007-12-24 07:32:21 · answer #6 · answered by Sandyspacecase 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋