My scrub jay singing her "whisper" song

This is "Scrubita" the mama scrub jay who comes each day to beg peanuts from me. She and her mate, "Precocious", have a nest in my Oleander bush and are raising their first family. The little ones should fledge in a week or so. I love having a front row seat to this little miracle unfolding right in my own backyard!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• scrubjay
• scrub
• jay
• bird
• wildlife
• nature
• birdsong
• whispersong

[lkillion]

They are amazing birds. I had two that would fly to my hand for peanuts. They were a mated pair. Never did figure out which was the male and which was the female, but they had very different personalities. One was very sweet and would always pause to thank me before flying off with their peanut. The other was very demanding and grabby. They were both delightful to have around.

[mcatexpert]

I had the amazing pleasure of the pair nesting in a tree in my back yard this year. Seeing the babies poke their head out of the nest and day by day get bigger was wonderful. When they left the nest it was nice to hear their cries for food and watch them sit. Unfortunately, because I could see them, so could the crows and parrots. A parrot got one about two days after it left the nest and dropped to the ground. The second one was taken out by a crow. They've renested elsewhere for brood two.

[lkillion]

@mcatexpert, I am so sorry that your baby jays fell victim to predators. My pair of jays fell victim to marauding jays and were forced out of the neighborhood. The two of them were able to defend their territory the first season through a brutal battle where they were greatly outnumbered. The battle raged on for two days of awful mayhem with jays screeching and chasing each other from tree to tree, and finally my jays won and the interlopers gave up and left.

[lkillion]

@mcatexpert, the second season, the marauding jays won and my jays left the territory. One of my birds returned several months later and took a few peanuts from me, but that was over a year ago and he has not returned since. It’s hard when nature takes its course and you lose them. I don’t know if my jays are still alive but, if they are, I probably will never see them again. The jays in the neighborhood now don’t like me any more than I like them. LOL.

[kiaoragin]

Great to someone else is filming their scrubber pals!

[lkillion]

They are such willing and comedic little actors. Such fun to watch and video.

[mcatexpert]

@lkillion That so perfectly describes it. I have a mated pair that come daily (if I'm around) to get peanuts. One will sit for about ten to fifteen seconds selecting a peanut (occasionally going for a finger) look me in the eye for a few seconds and then fly off. The other is a strike and snatch specialist, resting on my hand for no more than 3 nanoseconds and never missing the peanut. They have been a real treat in my life and I look forward to seeing them each day.

[Paul1953H]

That 'whisper song' sounds exactly like a California thrasher. Perhaps jays can imitate thrashers when they put their minds to it? :-) =PSH

[lkillion]

Blue brings you gifts and food when you are sick? How sweet is that?!

I have probably 10 pounds of peanuts buried in my yard. My jays may know where they all are buried, but they couldn't possibly eat all the peanuts they have begged off of me. Greedy little things they are!

They are amazing birds. They have become a big part of my life.

[godlessandhappy]

Hi,

Been off the radar due to illness. But yes they are very intelligent birds. Blue knows when I am sick, brings me food and gifts. Steals, hides, re-hides. The can remember where they buried 8,900 nuts a full year later according to some recent studies. They have found these birds to have an amazing memory, one that animals are thought not to have, so they are being studied from the UK to the US.

Good luck and I will look at your new stuff.

Peace

Tim