What Do Blue Jays Eat & How To Attract Them To Your Yard?

Blue jays are a typical songbird within the japanese half of america and are sometimes recognized by their noisy calls and sensible blue feathers with a crested head. They’re clever, stunning, and necessary to our ecosystems.

Should you love to look at the blue jays in your space and wish to entice extra birds to your yard, it’s smart to study a bit extra about them. For example, what do blue jays eat and the place do blue jays nest? When extra concerning the lifetime of blue jays, you’ll know what attracts blue jays.

To be able to entice any wild animal to your property, it’s worthwhile to mimic circumstances carefully related to the animals way of life. Within the case of the blue jays, you have to to offer meals, water, shelter and a secure place to nest.

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Attracting Blue Jays To Your Yard

As talked about, birds require meals, water, shelter and a secure nesting place to be drawn to your property. As soon as these fundamentals are lined, you’ll be able to create a yard fowl sanctuary with a couple of different issues that may enhance your odds of attracting the birds

Birds like to wash so a birdbath is a plus. Positive you’ll be able to put out meals for the birds, however offering native plant species as meals sources is even higher, and generally is a supply of shelter and nesting materials as properly. Incorporating simply these two issues offered blue jays with meals, water, shelter and nesting areas.

What Do Blue Jays Eat?

So what’s in a blue jay’s weight loss program? Blue jays are omnivores that eat a big selection of meals. Within the wild, they scavenge for bugs and small vertebrates however in addition they eat berries, seeds and nuts. They may even nibble on different birds’ eggs and carrion.

To feed the birds naturally, plant native bushes, perennials and grasses in your panorama. Don’t in the reduction of the seed heads of spent perennials or grasses within the fall however depart them up till spring for the birds to eat.

Should you would quite complement their pure meals decisions with fowl meals, go for black oil sunflower seeds, a favourite of many birds, cracked corn, millet and complete peanuts within the shell; blue jays adore peanuts. You’ll be able to even develop your personal birdseed vegetation. The jays would additionally recognize some suet hanging within the bushes. After all each the suet and the peanuts entice the squirrels, however they’re enjoyable to look at too.

Offering Water

There are a couple of methods to offer water in your feathered pals. The aforementioned fowl bathtub does double obligation as a shower and supply of ingesting water. You do must keep watch over the fowl bathtub and never solely clear it however refill it. Hold the birdbath out of direct daylight as properly to maintain the water cool.

What concerning the winter although? How do you retain the water from freezing? Use an electrical fowl bathtub heater!

You too can use a water characteristic, sprinkler, fountain, or perhaps a plant saucer, shallow basin or upended trash can lid for water. Once more, make sure to scrub the water container each week or so and fill it with recent water. Use a weak bleach answer in a ratio of 1:9 to sanitize the water container.

Lastly, if doable, use rainwater or spring water to quench your fowl’s thirst. Faucet water accommodates plenty of minerals that birds will not be used to.

Offering Shelter

As for offering shelter, there are a few issues you are able to do. To begin with, you’ll be able to incorporate native shrubs and native bushes that assist wildlife into your panorama. The blue jays are already aware of the native flora and certain already use it for shelter, meals and nesting.

Secondly, you’ll be able to present the jays with birdhouses. Blue jays like open nesting platforms or birdhouses that imitate pure tree cavities. A easy DIY birdhouse for blue jays wants a ground space of 8”x 8” (20 x 20 cm) with the identical distance from ground to ceiling. The home ought to have a sloping ceiling with partially open sides and a gap with a 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) entry gap.

As soon as you have made or bought a blue jay dwelling, the place must you put it? Jays often nest about 25 toes (8 m) up within the crotch of a tree, so up you go. Connect the birdhouse up excessive to the aspect of a storage, a shed, porch or atop a pole within the shade so the birds don’t roast.

Potential Points

Blue jays are territorial so don’t put up a couple of birdhouse except you could have a bigger property. Jays don’t begin in search of nesting websites till February or March and oddly, they like weathered homes quite than new ones, so don’t be shocked if nobody is at dwelling in your blue jay fowl nest straight away.

Blue jays will be obnoxious, however they’re additionally enjoyable to look at. Should you can bear their alarm calls, jeering and the truth that they’ll possible scare off different birds, welcome them with open arms!

Should you do get a nesting pair of blue jays, bear in mind that they’re extremely sociable birds and infrequently mate for all times. Each dad and mom feed the younger and preserve the nest.

Steadily Requested Questions

What’s a blue jay’s favourite meals?

In case you are feeding blue jays in your yard, you’ll win the hearts of the birds with peanuts within the shell. Within the wild, blue jays are omnivores and considerably opportunistic and can eat every part from bugs to berries to different birds eggs, and even carrion.

Why do not blue jays come to my feeder?

There are numerous the reason why blue jays may not be coming to your feeder. It may very well be {that a} bigger fowl, like a hawk, may be round. The feeder could also be empty or the meals has gotten moist and molded. Or perhaps they simply do not care in your providing. It’s doable they might have a wide range of straightforward pickings close by, in order that they merely aren’t in want of supplemental meals. In case you are offended and really need the blue jays to pay a go to, set out some peanuts within the shell. Blue jays can’t resist peanuts.

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