Blue jays will consume the following common bird foods:
- Bird seed mixes, particularly large seeds such as sunflower seeds
- Peanuts, hazelnuts and pretty much any other nuts
- Suet
- Leftovers, particularly small meat scraps in winter
- Mealworms, fresh or dried.
- Suet cakes, shreds, nuggets, or suet butter.
- Sunflower seeds of any type.
- Cracked corn or whole corn kernels.
What is the best feeder for Blue Jays?
What Type of Feeder Do Blue Jays Like?
- Tray Feeder A tray feeder is a great choice for those who want to offer an easy, stationary feeding station. ...
- Plastic Platform Feeder A platform feeder is another simple bird feeding solution that you can get without worrying too much about the size of your backyard. ...
- Tube Feeder WITH Attached Tray
What is feeder do you recommend for Blue Jays?
What Do The Blue Jays Eat?
- These birds are cautious and will not approach your installed feeders when humans are near. ...
- Make sure to install a ground feeder to support Blue Jays. ...
- You will need a ground bird feeder or a large bird feeder to support blue jays. ...
- Blue jays are fond of black oil sunflower seeds, corn, peanuts, and acorns.
What foods do blue jays eat?
To reiterate, the most common foods that they eat include:
- Sunflower seeds including black oil and striped seeds
- Fruit including elderberries, cherries, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, and more
- Insects including grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars
- Store-bought suet and mealworms from popular retailers including Wagner’s, Kimoe, and C&S
How to get rid of Blue Jays at your feeders?
- Eliminate nest sites: house sparrows are not protected by any laws because they are non-native. ...
- Offer a lot of cheap food away from your other feeders: A pile of cracked corn on the ground will keep pest birds busy and possibly away from your other ...
- Offer food they don’t like: Striped sunflower in the shell is hard for them to open. ...
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What does a Blue Jay eat in the winter?
Most of diet is vegetable matter (up to 75% of diet for year, higher percentage in winter), including acorns, beechnuts, and other nuts, many kinds of seeds, grain, berries, small fruits, sometimes cultivated fruits.
What is a Blue Jays favorite food?
Blue jays love to eat a variety of food types including sunflower seeds, blackberries, cherries, acorns, mealworms, beechnuts, suet, peanuts, and other dried berries. It's best to feed Blue jays using hopper feeders or tray feeders because they are large enough to accommodate their bigger bodies.
How do I attract Blue Jays to my backyard?
7 Proven Ways to Attract Blue Jays to Your YardOffer their favorite foods.Use a Blue-Jay-friendly feeder.Have water available.Plant fruit-bearing shrubs.Plant nut-bearing trees.Go organic.Keep kitty inside.
What do Blue Jays eat besides peanuts?
Blue jays are particularly fond of peanuts and sunflower seeds. They also love acorns, beechnuts and corn. Another part of their diet includes all types of berries and other small fruits such as cherries and apples.
How do you befriend a blue jay?
You can offer them mealworms, cracked corn, suet, and even sunflower seeds. These are all among some of Blue Jay's favorite treats. But nuts aren't the only treat you can offer a Blue Jay. They also enjoy sweeter treats such as berries and fruits.
Do blue jays eat from bird feeders?
Blue Jays are a type of bird that love to eat from feeders. There are many types of food that blue jays enjoy, including acorns, peanuts, corn, meal worms, and black oil sunflower seeds. Blue Jays also like eating from suet feeders.
What is the best bird feeder for blue jays?
Best Blue Jay FeederBirds Choice Whole Peanut Blue Jay Feeder. ... Woodlink Going Green Platform Bird Feeder. ... Songbird Essentials Whole Peanut Wreath Feeder. ... Gray Bunny Hanging Bird Feeder Tray. ... Woodlink Going Green Large Premier Bird Feeder.
Do blue jays like peanut butter?
You can also smear peanut butter on tree bark, or slather pine cones in peanut butter and dip them in bird seed. Woodpeckers, nuthatches and blue jays love to eat peanut butter.
What can I feed wild blue jays?
Blue Jays' Favorite FoodsMealworms, fresh or dried.Suet cakes, shreds, nuggets, or suet butter.Sunflower seeds of any type.Cracked corn or whole corn kernels.
Is bread good for blue jays?
Blue jays aren't huge fans of bread, but they will eat it if they need to or want to. The issue with bread is that it's nutritionally poor, meaning that birds who fill themselves up on bread likely aren't getting the nutrients they need to live a healthy life.
Is it OK to feed blue jays bread?
Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman say, “We discourage people from feeding bread to birds, as there are far too many potential risks. If moldy, bread can be dangerous to birds. Bread gets moldy quickly, and mold can pose a number of health problems for birds.
Do jays eat apples?
Fruit pits or seeds Most fruits are fine for birds to eat, but it's important to avoid fruits that have seeds or pits in them. If you're going to feed the birds in your garden fruits like apples, pears, apricots or peaches, make sure you fully remove the pits or seeds beforehand.
Blue Jay Diet
The Blue jays are brilliant birds and are adaptable too. Their diet consists of different food varieties like grasshoppers, mice, baby birds, larger insects, caterpillars, bird eggs, etc.
What Do Baby Blue Jays Eat?
Just like other birds, baby blue jays follow the diet of their parent. Baby blue jays eat food more or less like their parents or eat what their parents gave them. For eating food, baby blue jays are dependent on both parents.
How Often Should You Feed Blue jays?
It depends on the age of blue jays that how often you should feed them? You can feed adult blue jay after every two to three hours. For a baby blue jay, you should feed him after every 30 minutes or whenever you saw them opening their mouth.
Blue Jays Favorite Foods
Blue jays are capable of eating various foods, and the same goes with finding the food. They are fully capable of holding the nuts acorns from their feet and, after cracking them, open with their bills.
How Long Can Blue Jays Go Without Eating?
Surviving without any food is impossible for any living being in this world. However, the duration that different beings can survive without having any food varies from species to species.
Do Blue Jays Eat Other Birds?
Yes, blue jays do eat eggs of other birds and are known for this reason. There is no denying that blue jays have been spotted attacking other birds to steal their food and even eat their babies or eggs in some rare cases.
What Do Blue Jays Eat In The Winter?
Blue jays eat plenty and various types of food. They have to eat more food in winter than in summers. In winters, their diet consists of vegetables, berries, seeds, and beechnuts.
1. Songbird Essentials SE6019 Wreath Feeders
There are three things that I love about this feeder: simple, sturdy, and effective. At a glance, you might think it’s nothing but a piece of refurbished metal that you can just hang on a tree or post. But the straightforward design is beyond innovative because it can offer ample capacity for whole peanuts and even suet.
2. Twinkle Star Wild Bird Feeders
I won’t deny that it’s love at first upon seeing this beautiful feeder. The hexagon roof embellished with fish scale patterns and antique copper finish truly is a stunning sight that can stand out in your garden or backyard.
3. Songbird Essentials SE6020 Wreath Feeders
Contrary to our first wreath peanut feeder for blue jays, this one comes in a cherry red color. It stands out in the yard and it’s a whole lot of fun when blue jays and other birds stop by for a snack.
4. Droll Yankees Seed Saver Platform Feeders
For a sophisticated perch and feeder for your feathered friends, this Seed Saver Domed feeder from Droll Yankees is probably what’s missing in your yard. It is definitely a beauty that compliments the house exteriors but its versatility is what makes it one of a kind.
5. Birds Choice Whole Peanut Blue Jay Feeders
When you’re in need of a blue jay peanut feeder that you can set up in your backyard and attract blue jays with their favorite whole nuts, you would love this feeder from Birds Choice.
6. Brome Store Squirrel Proof Buster Peanut Feeders
Unless you’re feeding squirrels, you’ll need a squirrel proof blue jay feeder to shoo them all away from those precious peanuts. I’ve come across a lot of bird feeders but this one from Brome is definitely a tough contender.
7. Droll Yankees 21964205201 Squirrel Proof Bird Feeders
When flocks of birds usually come around your area or the seeds seem to run out too fast, you should get a bird feeder with a larger capacity.
How to keep blue jays from eating?
Avoid the sun. Place the feeder in the shade, if possible. Blue Jays are diurnal, so they feed during the daylight hours. Since they take mass quantities of food at a time so that they can hide it, their visit to the feeder can be rather lengthy. That’s a lot of time in the heat of the sun.
How many acorns can a blue jay eat?
Carrying several nuts at a time in the gular pouch of its esophagus, a single blue jay can cache as many as 5,000 acorns in a 2.5-mile radius. Some of those acorns tucked under grass or leaves eventually become trees. New: Check out my review of the best squirrel-proof bird feeders.
What is a blue jay?
The blue jay is a partially migratory songbird in the Corvid family, along with ravens and crows. It has black and blue plumage, a white face and a thick bill. Those who have spent time or live in central or eastern North America tend to recognize them easily.
Can blue jays snub feeders?
They certainly won’t snub a more traditional feeder, though. Be sure that whatever feeder you get, it is sizable enough to support blue jays. There are several ground feeders and larger bird feeders on the market. You can also scatter seed on the ground to attract blue jays. Stock the feeder with their favorites.
Do blue jays mate in the winter?
Both parents share equal responsibility for feeding their young once the eggs have hatched. Into late summer, fall and winter, blue jays may have to search for food in other locations.
Can blue jays eat suets?
Or from a window, if available. Don’t forget the suet. Blue Jays also enjoy eating from suet feeders, but be sure not to leave the suet for too long in the summer months as it will go rotten. Provide a source for hydration… and cleanliness.
What do blue jays eat?
In addition to nuts and seeds, blue jays may eat other food sources such as berries, bugs and frogs. They usually don’t eat adult bees or wasps, but sometimes they will break open a wasps’ nest to eat the soft larvae inside.
Do blue jays eat bees?
They usually don’t eat adult bees or wasps, but sometimes they will break open a wasps’ nest to eat the soft larvae inside. Around a small wasps’ nest, blue jays have been observed catching and crushing the adult wasps and dropping them on the ground.
What is the best food for blue jays?
Blue Jays favorite food is whole, shelled peanut. I personally picked the Songbird Essentials because its secured design and built will surely keep other animals from stealing my Blue Jays food. This peanut bird feeder external diameter is around 13 inches in length, while the inner measurement is 7 inches.
What type of feeder should I use for blue jays?
Tube feeders. If you are looking for a cost-effective and practical type of Blue Jays feeder I do recommend you go for a tube style feeder. Wild birds including Blue Jays prefer feeding on corn and peanuts and a tube feeder is designed to hold this type of bird feed.
What bird feeders attract blue jays?
One of the popular types of bird feeders that attract blue jays the tray feeder . This type of feeder has open space platform where you can fill it with bird feeds like peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet.
What is a blue jay bird feeder made of?
Not all feeders have similar materials. Some bird feeders are made from recycled plastic, stainless steel with mesh wire and cedarwood. Other bird feeders are designed and built to have special features like anti-rot, corrosion and rust-resistant and UV protected. It’s very important to choose the quality of the Blue Jays feeder because they are big compared to other birds.
What is the material used in Nature's Way bird feeders?
The material used for its construction is from top quality Cedarwood with water-based protection stain. I think this would make any outdoor space aesthetically appealing with its nature theme.
What factors affect a buyer's decision when buying Blue Jays feeders?
Bird feed capacity. Another factor that will affect a buyer’s decision when buying Blue Jays feeder is the capacity a bird feeder can offer. A bird feeder that can hold much feed is beneficial for a bird watcher that wants to attract a big number of birds.
What birds like wreath shaped bird feeders?
This design is suitable for nut loving bird species like Blue Jays, Crows, Doves, Nutcrackers, Towhees and a lot more. You might ask, what is the benefit of a wreath shaped bird feeder. Its structure helps animals like squirrels and nut loving feathered friends to pick the bird feeds without a struggle.
1. Go nuts!
A time-tested way to attract blue jays is to put roasted and unsalted nuts in your bird feeders. These birds love whole peanuts as well as seeds, grains, and corn. Thanks to their strong black bills, they can easily crack acorns and nuts.
2. Lure blue jays with leaf litter
Blue jays cache their food, nuts, and seeds under leaf litter or in crevices of trees. A blue jay may take a peanut or nut from your front yard feeder and methodically sort through a mass of leaf litter under an oak tree to bury it. But, in many cases, jays forget where they hid the nuts; and hundreds remain to sprout the next spring.
3. Install blue jay specific feeders
The most popular type of feeder to attract blue jays is a tray or a platform feeder. Try avoiding hanging feeders that swing or sway because such feeders will not provide any support to blue jays. Rather, opt for ground or pole-mounted feeders offering peanuts, corn, sunflower seeds, and suet balls to hungry jays.
4. Encourage nesting in your yard
Typically, blue jays build more than one nest, because if they detect a predator, they will move away immediately. Both parents participate in the nest-building process, with females participating more in construction, and males do more of the gathering.
5. The location of the feeder is the key
The ideal spot to place a feeder is near the shrubbery or a tree where blue jays can sit while they eat from your feeder. These birds are naturally very cautious, so they are unlikely to approach feeders if any humans are lurking nearby.
7. Keep your distance
Again, blue jays are cautious birds and do not eat if there are humans around. They often dive at dogs, cats, and humans because they are extremely territorial. If you get nearby, these birds will show their discomfort by flying close enough. But you don’t have to worry since they will not run into you unless it is an accident.
8. Get ready for the mating season
Bluejays are monogamous, which means they mate for life. Keep a pile of twigs and sticks nearby for helping the birds build their nest from March through July, which is the mating and breeding season. This little step will eliminate the hundreds of trips back and forth the blue jays must make for collecting the required materials.
