BirdieKate
Katie
This was a first for me this week. I have a blue jay who can do a dead-on imitation of a hawk. He does two different sounds -- the whistling cry they make when they're soaring above, and then a call, something more like the sound of a juvenile calling from a nest.
I was out in the yard yesterday early a.m. putting out seed, and heard a hawk - gee, sounds like he's right out front, and low, too -- I go out there, and I see this small blue-jay sized (!) bird in a bare tree, making the sounds. I'm saying to myself, this is some small hawk! And then he flies to the ground, and voila, it's a blue jay, and he starts making his standard blue jay noises.
At the time he was imitating the hawk, there were several crows around, pecking at my trash bags out for pickup... I'm positive he was trying to scare them off. The result, however, is that barely any of the seed I put in the feeders yesterday has been touched! That clever blue jay is scaring everything away.
I've never heard of blue jays being such effective imitators. This was very cool! I know they can be marauders but I just love them, they're so vocal and demonstrative, and gorgeous feathers. And smart, too!
I was out in the yard yesterday early a.m. putting out seed, and heard a hawk - gee, sounds like he's right out front, and low, too -- I go out there, and I see this small blue-jay sized (!) bird in a bare tree, making the sounds. I'm saying to myself, this is some small hawk! And then he flies to the ground, and voila, it's a blue jay, and he starts making his standard blue jay noises.
At the time he was imitating the hawk, there were several crows around, pecking at my trash bags out for pickup... I'm positive he was trying to scare them off. The result, however, is that barely any of the seed I put in the feeders yesterday has been touched! That clever blue jay is scaring everything away.
I've never heard of blue jays being such effective imitators. This was very cool! I know they can be marauders but I just love them, they're so vocal and demonstrative, and gorgeous feathers. And smart, too!