It is easy to attract this bird if you have bird feeders that include peanuts, sunflower, and fruits in it. Jays are smart. Additionally they like to eat corn, grains, berries, seeds, insects, and peanuts. … You can also smear peanut butter on tree bark, or slather pine cones in peanut butter and dip them in bird seed. Blue jays have a wide range of diet. Nuts: Like most of the wild birds, the diet of blue jays includes nuts. 1) Feed Birds Whole Peanuts in the Shell Blue Jays Eating Peanuts. One common problem with feeding peanuts in the shell is that squirrels are crazy about them. Attract Blue Jays by stocking plenty of their favorite foods to always have on hand to offer them, including corn, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. Red-breasted Nuthatches are one of the species that I'm always hoping to find at my shelled peanut feeder. My local resident jays more often use my feeders as a grocery store, stuffing food into their throat pouch to hide in caches or eat in privacy later. Recent news coverage has reported on the massive declines in North American bird populations over the past few decades. Blue Jays eat mostly plant material, such as acorns and other mast, fruits, and seeds. (How To Feed These Cuties) Comments. Some of the peanuts were eaten immediately on top of the fence or a limb overhead. Other species will take these peanuts from time to time, but they are a bit hard to crack open for many of the smaller birds. April 28, 2020 at 3:26 pm. However you like to watch birds—in the woods, at your feeder, or on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s live streaming feeder cams – you will often see them flying with food in their beaks. At first they take the nut from the shell and actually eat it. That special meaning does make me smile every time I see one of these gorgeous birds. Rob Ripma, a lifelong Indiana resident, has traveled and birded extensively throughout the Americas. If you want to attract blue jays, invest in a platform feeder and a bag of whole peanuts. Instead, add a few Lyric Peanut Pieces to your platform feeder, and you’ll know the Blue Jays are getting a fresh and nourishing source of protein. At about 8 a.m., I awoke to blue jays pounding on my gutters. One year, two tame squirrels accepted peanuts from my hand. So you may want to invest in a peanut feeder. But they have been known to harvest on eggs or even small frogs, baby birds, and invertebrates from time to time. These include acorns and beech mast, weed seeds, grain, fruits and other berries, peanuts, bread, meat, small invertebrates of many types, and whatever scraps in town parks they can find. Once blue jays get a taste for peanuts nothing else matters. What Do Blue Jays Eat? If you have a bird feeder, you’ve probably noticed times when all the birds clear out, and suddenly a couple of blue jays swoop in to hog the spoils. Tony Quinn / EyeEm / Getty Images Attracting Birds With Nuts . 50′ X 50′, with trees in a woods behind, I think our … If I do not get the birdseed out at daybreak, I am reminded they are waiting. Blue jays will eat about anything organic, and usually eat it on the spot. They are in search of high energy, high protein foods that include peanuts in the shell, sunflower seeds, acorns, and other nuts. What Foods Do They Eat? Q: I’ve been feeding salted peanuts in the shell to blue jays and they seem to love them, even though I get them on sale at the grocery store. What Do Blue Jays Like To Eat? One Blue Jay was observed packing over 100 sunflower seeds into its gullet during just one visit to a feeder. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. My coworker Nancy has a compost pile in her backyard where she has seen Blue Jays repeatedly picking up bits of eggshell, and even apple peels. I can’t find any other references to back it up, but I swear the little buggers just stripped my satsuma tree of hundreds of little tangerines. Because peanuts are high in fat, they are an excellent source of energy and calories, especially during cold winters, and they're ideal for birds to tuck away and store for another day. You may have gotten a clue from earlier into the article that peanuts are the blue jay’s favorite. Their food is found in trees and on the ground. No matter what types of peanuts or peanut products you feed your backyard birds, youre actually offering them a very nutritional treat. . Jays seem to see, and remember, the physical world in exquisite detail. Heath Barrett says. Nuts: Like most of the wild birds, the diet of blue jays includes nuts. For the most part, blue jays eat nuts and seeds, yes. I have even had them fly off with a peanut and then decide that it wasn't the best one so they … They are loud and raucous and bullying. They will also eat mealworms, grubs and small insects, but absolutely love nuts, and especially peanuts in the shell. • Blue jays seem to prefer to cache their seeds in open areas that have recently been disturbed by activities such as mowing or plowing. You can try feeding safflower but I'm not sure if they eat it or not. Woodlink Going Green Platform Bird Feeder. Make sure there is a source of water nearby for the birds to drink and bathe in. If you live in North Texas, you are probably at home today or you are one of the brave and dedicated souls that spent hours getting into work on the sheet of ice that Mother Nature laid down at 4 a.m. this morning! Peanuts are like a secret weapon for people who love feeding birds. However you like to watch birds—in the woods, at your feeder, or on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s live streaming feeder cams – … My shelf feeder has been overrun by squirrels so I need an alternative. Peanuts, sunflower seeds, pinto beans (cooked, of course), canned and dry dog food (dry mixed with water to make it easier to eat so they don't choke), bits of cheese, hard boiled egg...you name it ;) Purchase peanuts in the shell so it takes longer for them to go through them. BJ’s love them, but the lawn will be a mess. If you did, you’re right. Over a few months, an individual bird may cache nuts, insects, even worms, in several thousand spots. Peanut butter is a good high-protein food for birds, and they can eat any of the same types humans do. I wondered what they did with the peanuts. Jays seem to sense whenever peanuts are put out within a 5-mile radius. ages ago jessi.bryan says: I was watching a blue jay in the local park taking peanuts away and burying them. Don’t forget the peanuts! I even brought him on the house when it was cold out. Blue Jays love nuts, seeds and berries. Know that blue jays are omnivorous. Blue jays will also gladly come in to suet feeders. Some of the most common species that make use of my shelled peanut feeder are chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. Blue Jays and other jay species in the US love peanuts in the shell. Jays looooove peanuts. My coworker Nancy has a compost pile in her backyard where she has seen Blue Jays repeatedly picking up bits of eggshell, and even apple peels. The weather is surprisingly mild today. Blue jays have very strong black bills, which can crack nuts and acorns. Some posit that blue jays do this as an alarm call, alerting other blue jays to danger. I have been putting a mixture of corn , sunflower seeds, and raw peanuts out for the squirrels. I am one of the former – I am at home today. You can try feeding that.