Not In Our Neighborhood!

I hear Blue Jays vocalizing around the property. But, they don’t come into the yard to visit our feeders. Our wild birds are truly wild, and while it’s common to see a Northern Cardinal at a feeder in a small, suburban yard, our Cardinals are quite flighty – pun intended. Blue Jays are even more aloof. I think it’s a City Mouse – Country Mouse phenomenon that we experience, here. Actually seeing many of the birds that I often hear, is exciting.

A couple of days ago a Blue Jay landed on the fence while I was out on the patio trying to catch a few good Hummingbird photos. I noticed him immediately for his size and lovely color. Apparently, so did every other bird in the neighborhood! Unfortunately for the Jay he landed just under and in between the red Purple Martin house and the Gourd Tower. Instantly, birds began to swoop at the Blue Jay, and a boisterous vocal commotion ensued. The offended swallows became quite bold and their diving behavior turned to physical contact. From my position about 60 feet away, even with my terrible vision, I could see the aerial acrobats attempt to pluck a feather from the larger bird’s head. The overwhelmed Jay’s bobbed to dodge the assault.

I was able to catch some of the action, which is posted below. I failed to capture an actual pluck to the Jay’s skull, but I think you will be able to see, by the tucking of his head, that he was avoiding blow after blow.

The Purple Martins, which are currently tending to their chicks, all took flight and swirled in the air over the yard. They vocalized their discontent with fervor. I felt as if I was on the set of a remake of Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds.”

And, yet, while the Purple Martins were clearly distressed, when I looked closely at the photos I realized something quite interesting. It was the Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows that I filmed dive-bombing the Blue Jay. The Tree Swallows have chicks in a nest box that is about 30 feet from where the Jay landed. There are a few pairs of Barn Swallows with nests both under the eaves of my patio, over Robert’s shop door, and over a door on our south studio room. So, it doesn’t surprise me that all those parents took up arms against the invader. Clearly, the need to protect one’s borders goes back quite far in evolutionary history!

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Barn Swallows have yellow under their chin and a forked tail which has white marking on the top.The photo directly below is a Barn Swallow.

The next photo shows two Tree Swallows on the attack. I suspect these are the two parents who have chicks just 30 feet from where the Blue Jay landed. Tree Swallows have an iridescent, deep blue back and white underbelly and chin. Their tail is not forked, like the Barn Swallow.

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I don’t think I will be seeing the Blue Jay taking advantage of the bird seed diner we have in they yard. But, I have a plan. We are going to set up a feeding station in the wilder area out by the pond where we’ve seen the Orchard Orioles a few times, and a Red Headed woodpecker, too. Just this morning “Alexa” had a notification for me; “Amazon shipment has arrived, including Oriole feeder,” she announced. The shipment also contains peanut suet which I believe the Blue Jay will enjoy in the peaceful meadow, far from the new parents!