I've always found it curious that blue jays hold the sunflower seed with their feet and peck it open. Seems it would be very difficult, and seems those big beaks could crack the seed easily. Maybe just not dexterous with the beaks!. Sometimes they just swallow the sunflower seed shell and all. By the way, I saw a blue jay one at the dog food bowls on the porch, so I poured some of the small dry kibble out on a broad limb that runs close to the ground - it makes a natural "table" for the birds - and the blue jays went for it big time! Some they swallowed hole and other pieces they flew with, to stash, maybe? Later in the day, I saw a brown thrasher with a piece of the kibble on the ground. He (she?) was holding the hard nugget with their claws, and pecked at it until it broke into smaller pieces, which it then swallowed. Repeated this with another nugget. I purchased mealworms for the first time in my bird feeding life, and the birds do not seem to recognize them as food. I bought both the live and the freeze-dried. I tried feeding them to "my" mockingbirds. They have been feeding heavily on some frozen apples that I'd stuck onto sharp limbs, so I sprinkled the freeze dried mealworms onto the apples, which had been slightly hollowed out by the feeding. Mockingbirds had no interest. I put some live mealworms out there, but they were frozen in short order, so I made a makeshift "double boiler" by setting a shallow bowl atop a deeper bowl filled with hot water, so the mealworms stayed warm and kept moving for a time. I put this apparatus atop my wooden gate, near the mockingbird feeding area. Still, no action. I have sprinkled a few more of the freeze dried in a variety of places in full view of the birds, and they look untouched. Advice, anyone? Carol Reese Ornamental Horticulture Specialist -Western District University of Tennessee Extension Service 605 Airways Blvd. Jackson TN 38301 731 425 4767 email jreese5@xxxxxxx <mailto:jreese5@xxxxxxx> =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clarksville, TN __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________