Today It's Mr. Blue Jay�s Turn

Mr. Inski the chipmunk had his photo session on Monday. And Mr. Robin had his yesterday. And right when I was preparing for a much needed break (photographing these skittish critters is exhausting, you know, not to mention time-consuming), well, along comes Mr. Blue Jay demanding his time in front of the camera. I gave in because he can be incredibly convincing with that shrieking voice, and because he won�t be around all summer. A soon as Mr. and Mrs. Robin start building a nest, they�re going to get very aggressive toward Mr. Blue Jay and angrily chase him away from my yard, which they believe is their yard. And Mr. Blue Jay and family won�t be allowed back here until at least the end of August.

Therefore, I may as well take as many photos of him and the little missus while I still can. So, here he is in all his glory (with some trivia from an old post)...

Blue Jays are part of the Corvidae family of birds, which includes relatives like ravens, magpies, rooks, crows, jackdaws, treepies, nutcrackers, choughs and several others. A common name for this group of birds is �The crow family�

Very clever, Blue Jays in captivity have been known to use tools for problem-solving, such as strips of newspaper to rake in food pellets outside of their cages.

Blue Jays are monogamous. A couple will stay together until one of the pair dies. Extremely protective of their family members, particularly their young, they will not hesitate to attack large predators � including humans � when intimidated by them. Several Blue Jays will also band together, when a stronger force is necessary, to chase away intruders.

Excellent imitators, Blue Jays frequently copy the sounds of other birds, including the cries of hawks, which is done to a) warn other Jays that predators are around and b) to deceive other species into believing that hawks are close by � so food sources will be abandoned and made available exclusively to the Jays. (Smart, huh?) So, if you ever see a Blue Jay fly down to a feeder immediately after the smaller birds abandon it in fear, well, you�ll know what that�s all about. In addition to other birds, Blue Jays can also imitate human speech and meowing cats. Most sources of information state that this is mostly done by captive Blue Jays. Still, that�s pretty impressive.

A Blue Jay raises or lowers the crest of feathers on its head according to its mood. A fully erected crest, forming a prominent peak, indicates aggression or excitement. A crest that is laid flat on top of the head is a sign of calmness and relaxation. And a crest that spreads outwards, resembling a bottle brush, reveals that the bird is frightened.

The lifespan of these birds is about 7 years. The oldest Blue Jay in the wild (studied by researchers) lived to be 17 �. And the longest-lived, a female in captivity, lived to be over 26 years old. Wow!

Blue Jays are not welcome by everyone because they have a reputation of being bullies at the bird feeders. Not everybody agrees though. According to some sources of information, these birds may not be as aggressive as they are made out to be, which has certainly been my experience. I personally don�t have a problem with them. In fact, the other critters in my backyard, including squirrels, mourning doves, woodpeckers and even the shy cardinals, have often dominated the Blue Jays, preventing them from obtaining food. So, I welcome these beautiful birds, particularly this time of year, with one of their favourite treats � peanuts.

You�re okay in my book, Mr. Blue Jay!