[obol] the Jay wars
- From: "Paul Sullivan" <paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <YamhillBirders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <cobol@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2014 08:25:23 -0700
Here in McMinnville the back of our backyard is bordered by cedars, pines,
and firs. At the front of this is a snag on which we hang our feeders. A
couple blocks away is the edge of town and the S. Yamhill River.
STELLER'S JAYS appear in our yard by flying in from the back. They come
through the trees and perch on the top of the snag. When we see one, we
open the patio door and throw a peanut or two out on the lawn. The
Steller's jays are now tuned to dropping down immediately to get them. Then
a SCRUB JAY appears, shooting over the roof of the house like a fighter jet,
right at the Steller's. The latter flees up through the trees, out the back
with the Scrub in hot pursuit.
As the day unfolds, there are more visits by the Steller's, always coming
from the back. The Scrub is on watch around the yard all day. The
Steller's will sit up on the snag and wait if the Scrub is on the ground or
in sight. The Scrub will be a complete butt, driving the Steller's away,
even if outnumbered 3 to 1. At times we have had 5 of each species.
Only when the Scrub has gone off with a peanut and the coast is clear will
the Steller's come down to the ground. This happened the other day when an
adult Scrub got a peanut and left with two fledgling scrubs in pursuit.
That meant the Steller's could feed in the yard undisturbed for a while.
Both jay species will pick up, test, and drop peanuts. The Steller's jay
will swallow (almost) one peanut and pick up another. The Scrub jay doesn't
seem able to do this. The Scrub jay likes to burry peanuts in flower pots
and in the lawn. The Steller's will go up on a limb, crack a nut, and eat
it, dropping the hulls in the yard below.
We humans are biased, we don't put out peanuts for the Scrub Jays if there
are no Steller's around. Nonetheless, both species get their nuts. While
all this is going on, all the rest of the birds in the yard are terrorized
and hiding. Only when the jay wars subside does life in the backyard return
to normal.
Good birding, everyone,
Paul & Carol
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- » [obol] the Jay wars - Paul Sullivan