The Blue Jays love to come up to the feeder and pick through the peanuts, lifting a number of them and putting them back down again to find the right ones. I have even had them fly off with a peanut and then decide that it wasn't the best one so they fly back and exchange it for a larger or heavier one. ....Most of the time they eat the peanuts right away, flying up to one our trees and cracking the peanut open. I can tell this because they drop the shells on the ground and our lawn has quite a few shells. Then I have a few larger Blue Jays that love to stuff their mouths with as many peanuts they can fit in it. I sit there watching them wondering how in the world can they get so many in their mouths??? Here are a few photos of what goes on...notice their position when swallowing Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) Blu Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) Notice the unshelled peanut in his beak and he is picking up a shelled peanut... Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) This one was not the right peanut.... Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden ) Then start looking for more to try and fit in... Blue Jay... ( photo / image / picture from Sherry8's Garden )
Geesss...I have seen them do that before. Don't you wonder if they go somewhere else and regurgitate it when you don't see them? Little piggie........
Gosh how can they pack so many away? I hope they weren't too heavy to fly after gathering so many peanuts.
An amusing set of pictures. I have seen bluejays take as many as 15 sunflower seeds at a time. Some they hide and others they eat. I wonder if a sign "Limit, 5 seeds per customer" would work? I have never tried peanuts. I have enough fun cleaning up the sunflower seeds. I will pop popcorn and then give it to the birds they usually take one piece at a time, even the bluejays. And no mess. Jerry
Those are great pic's. Our bluejays are quite piggy also. Filling their faces with as much sunflower seed hearts as they can. Then they fly off to cache them away somewhere. I wonder if they every remember all the places they hide the seed?
