Do Jays get embarrassed?

Hello! I'm new to bird-watching. Until my husband bought a birdfeeder three months ago, I didn't understand the interest. Then chickadees began to eat at my feeder. Then juncos came to have a buffet on the ground. Once I saw my first hummingbird ever, I was hooked!!

We now have a Stellar's Jay that comes regularly. I laid down peanuts (with shells) and he would pick them up and take them away to eat. I ran out of them, but he still comes. He has eaten at the 'welcome mat' we leave on our patio (a circle of birdseed), but he flies away if another bird comes. He has eaten at it at dusk when the other birds finished feeding. It's almost as if he's embarrassed at being seen eating the little bird seed. He's a funny one. Before, when we laid out the big peanuts, he swooped in, smacking the juncos and towhees out of the way with his big flapping wings and regard his options. He would pick up a few, regard its carriage, test its heft, and fastidiously pick the best to take away, break open, and eat. Now, he only comes when no other bird is around (except for the dees who own the feeder).

He recently began trying to land on the feeder. He's too big for it! It's the type that is a black, hanging cylinder with holes down the length of it. I put down a suet feeder (It's too small so I had to put it on the ground. But the suet is awfully greasy and though he's pecked at it, he's unsatisfied). Is this his way of demanding his own proper feeder? Is he starved? Or does he just want the handouts? I'm curious. He's such a drama king!

Welcome Moogle, I doubt he is starved right now but maybe try getting a peanut silo feeder and putting peanut halves in it (unsalted). My Jays love that. Also while the weathers still warm try using a No Melt suet they are much less greasy and also come in a Peanut flavor.

What type of seed is in your feeder? I do remember my Jays like Black Oil Sunflower seed too.

There are also seed blocks or bricks you can get that have an assorted mix of seed and nuts (just don't buy the Finch one).

Jays can really have some funny personalitys. Pelle

Hello Pelle! I found the peanut butter flavored suet. I don't think it said No Melt. I'll keep looking.

He does! He ~loves~ the nuts. He'll eat the black sunflower seeds, but he'll toss them all for some nice nuts. I like the idea of a seed brick. I have two types of feed at the moment. One consists of black sunflower seeds, millet, and bits of berry, and the other has sunflower seeds and bits of nut. Not the finch one? Why is that?

I've been wondering about the finches. I can't seem to keep them in my yard. They enjoy the seed and the feeder, but as soon as they see human movement, I don't see them again for days or weeks.

Last night, the Jay repeatedly attempted the role of hummingbird. He would fly at the dee feeder and try to peck through the holes while he flapped madly to hover. He sank pretty fast. So I got him a feeder he can enter. It's a hanging gazebo and rather large. He seemed quite pleased. He gobbled down the nuts and then smacked his beak on the gazebo floor to scatter the sunflower seeds so he could see all the nuts. Spoiled bird! He certainly has me trained!

The chickadees found the gazebo and don't mind it either. I see a dee every now and then pecking inside it when they don't want to wait in line. I don't know if anyone else has experienced the dees waiting in line to get on the feeder. They perch in the bushes and trees, make their calls, and don't last longer than two seconds on the feeder before another one takes its place. If one takes too long, he is ousted and made to go to the back of the line :P The juncos, in contrast, prefer lounging together in the grass and pecking at seeds.

I tried to get a picture of the Jay. He may have spotted me with the camera and refused to come, or he's already cheating on me. The scoundrel! lol

So I took a picture of a chickadee instead :)

Hi Moogle! Very nice pic!

The reason I said not a Finch Bar was because we were mainly talking about Jays but the Chickadees,Jays Junco's,Woodpeckers etc. will still love the nut/seed brick or Cake

The Finch Bar/Cake/Brick has much tinier seeds made especially for those tiny beeks.

Heres a link to show you one thats called a Woodpecker Cake that most birds would enjoy. It has Almonds,Peanuts,Cracked Corn,Peanut Butter, Black Oil Sunflower & Sunflower Hearts.
http://www.songbirdgarden.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2927
(I'm not advocating this site; just using it as example) The ones I'm speaking of are very large maybe 6" wide, 2" deep and 6" long. I bought the cage that holds the Cake so I could hang it up.

Theres another one thats called Trail Mix thats also nice. There all differnet types w/ all different ingredients but the 2 I've mentioned are the ones that seem the most popular in my yard.

Now to the Finches. I'm sort of assuming your talking about Goldfinch? You could try the Finch Cake or you could get an inexpesive Thistle Feeder (obviously you'll need thistle or nyger seed then) most come in a tube style and the feeder openings are just tiny little slits that the birds eat the seed from. If you do get this type of feeder please do not get the mesh or wire type because that exposes the seed to rain which can spoil the seed. The plastic tube type is fine and either comes with perches or a spiral perch ring that runs the length of the feeder.

Okay I think I've covered it all, if theres anymore questions don't hesitate to ask. :-)

Yes I have seen the Chickadee lineup w/ that behavior! Same with Woodpeckers.

Have a good night! Pelle

Nothing so exotic as a goldfinch :) I've never seen a yellow bird in the wild until this morning. I've only seen the house finches. They never stay. They've enjoyed the chickadee feeder and the ground seed, but any human anywhere and they don't return for days.

About that yellow bird... I have no idea what it was. It was small and very round. It had a yellow breast and seemed to have more yellow all over. It was a light bird meaning it didn't have many dark marks. It was very cute. I couldn't get my binoculars before it flew into a bush. I didn't want to approach it for fear I'd startle it. Ah well. I was very happy to see it if only for a few seconds.

A curious thing is happening lately. The birds normally come three times a day to feed. They are beginning to feed every two hours and sometimes every hour. Are they fattening up before they migrate? I've got maybe 30 birds at a time coming for the seed. It's fun to watch.

Thank you, Pelle, for all the great advice.

Here is the Jay. I caught him! He didn't seem at all shy about posing in front of the camera.

So cute!

Hi Moogle, I'm not sure what other birds your talking about but the Stellers Jays don't migrate. Heres some info on them.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Stellers_Jay.html

Pelle :-)

Heres a page on House Finch another that doesn't migrate.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/House_Finch.html

Isn't he, Grandmaggie? He knows it, too. He's scarfing down his seeds behind me right now.

Thank you, Pelle. What a great site. I was thinking more of the towhees, juncos, and white-crowned sparrows that have come recently. I'm getting 15 juncos at a time now (that I can count). I thought it was for migration. Apparently, all of them may stay here year round. Wow. They certainly are hungry!

Yes well they definitely eat more as the weather gets cooler.

Heres a search page with 2 ways to look for more info, range maps etc.

Hope this helps! :-)