Blue Jays – BestBirdGuide

Blue jays have such contrasting behaviours that people either grow to love or despise them. These beautiful blue birds are attractive with their bright blue plumage and are known to be intelligent but they are also loud bully birds for a majority of songbirds. So how can you get rid of blue jays? Here are 7 ways to get rid of blue jays, those who are bully birds. Put sunflower seeds in the feeder and avoid peanuts Clean your garden for stray and spilt seeds Install metallic windchimes in your garden Put Fake owls in your backyard Change bird feeder type; consider one for smaller birds Install a bird feeder with a treadle or weighted perch Hang a mirror or reflective tape made with discarded CDs Smaller birds are threatened by these raucous, aggressive, and dominating birds. They have even been seen chasing down humans, cats and dogs in places of co-habitation such as parks, sanctuaries, etc. You won’t have to find out; you will automatically know when they arrive at your backyard feeder because they create a huge commotion and scare away the majority of all the other birds with their noise. Since they are huge birds, there aren't many things that would scare them away besides squirrels or chipmunks. If you learn to tolerate their loud personalities and deal with their rash behaviour, blue jays may become welcome guests in your garden bird sanctuary. However, it would be no surprise if you want to get rid of aggressive blue jays and don’t want them in your garden. Through this article, we suggest some of the strategies that you can employ to ward off blue jays from visiting your garden. 7 Ways To Get Rid Of Blue Jays Blue jays are beautiful birds but at the same time, some of them tend to be aggressive and bullies in nature. Therefore, sometimes we need to get rid of blue jays to let other birds come to our backyard. Here are the proven ways that we have used to deter these birds. Put sunflower seeds in the feeder and avoid peanuts Typically, peanuts, acorns, mealworms, cracked corn, and sunflower seeds are what blue jays love to consume. As a result, if you want to keep them out of your garden, be sure to select seed mixtures that don't include a lot of them. This strategy for regulating the blue jays that visit your yard to eat from your feeders is selective feeding. Safflower seeds and other smaller seeds are often disliked by blue jays, so if you pick a seed mix that contains these, you can cut down on the number of blue jays that come to harass the other birds. While safflower and thistle seeds are not favourites of blue jays. Finches, chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals, and grosbeaks will continue to visit the feeders even if only these seeds are provided. Clean your garden for stray and spilt seeds Blue jays don't mind eating seeds from the ground that other birds have thrown. Because they frequently consume the food that the other birds drop on the ground, many people discover that thwarting blue jays at feeders isn't nearly enough. That’s why you could want to take into account actively cleaning and removing seeds from the feeder and the locations around it that may have scattered bits and fragments on a routine basis. By picking up stray and spilt seeds, you are lowering the amount of potential feeding area for blue jays, giving them less of an incentive to harass the other birds. You can put a trash can beneath the feeder to collect the spilt seeds or fragmented pieces and can remove it in an interval so jays won’t collect in your yard to munch on that. Install metallic windchimes in your garden Consider installing windchimes in your backyard as a non-violent method to ward off jays. Particularly blue jays dislike the sound and sight of windchimes and won't feel secure eating in your garden if they can hear or see them there. The most effective windchimes to scare blue jays are metallic and crystallised. Despite having a fair amount of intelligence, blue jays cannot distinguish between the shadow of their aggressive behavior and other birds that are violent. They would mistake their own shadow for other aggressive birds and won’t trouble you by moving into your garden again. Put Fake owls in your backyard Birds are aware that it is best to avoid predators and you can take advantage of this by buying predator decoys and scattering them around the backyard. Although there are many decoys available, the most popular sort of these decoys is a faux owl, which you can take into consideration. If blue jays are the bullies of songbirds, then owls might be said to be the bully birds of blue jays. If blue jays sense that the predatory owl is observing them, they will often back off and avoid your yard. For this to work, be sure you get an owl that is quite lifelike. Owl decoys are reasonably priced and have a lifelike appearance. To try to prevent birds from becoming used to the location, you may set up several owl decoys in your yard. The drawback of this strategy is that occasionally the birds may become used to the faux owl. If you don't move the decoys about a bit, they could understand that they are fake. Simply shifting the locations of the owl decoys sometimes will fool the birds. To make the birds guess, you can even switch between different statues. The use of snake decoys can also have positive outcomes. You may install rubber snakes that look like genuine snakes beside the terrace. Scarecrows can also be positioned along with these inanimate intimidators. Change feeder type; consider one for smaller birds The installation of a smaller tube feeder is one method that might address the issue of raucous blue jays coming to your garden. Small tube feeders give smaller birds a space to feed without being pushed about since blue jays find them difficult to sit on. Blue Jays are often larger than the majority of the more desirable feeder birds, and putting smaller feeders may limit the size of birds that may feed in your yard and hence ward off blue jays. The typical tube, suet, and tray feeders that can come in the market should be surrounded by a rubber-coated mesh. Smaller birds would be able to pass through and enter the feeding chamber with the help of it while blue jays would not. Other bully birds like crows, pigeons, and blackbirds too are unable to pass through these meshed feeders. The drawback of this method is that desirable birds like northern cardinals too can't enter since they're too big. Due to this, you might want to install two bird feeders: one where larger birds can sit, and one where they can't. This offers the little goldfinches, titmice, and chickadees a safe spot to feed while allowing you to observe the blue jay and cardinals. Install a feeder with a treadle or weighted perch Being considerably larger, blue jays typically need a perch to hang onto as they eat, but the majority of finches and many other birds can do without it. Finches can cling to the tube feeder's sides and consume continuously, jays cannot. Some commercial tube feeders feature perches above the food ports, requiring the birds to extend their necks downward to eat something that birds of the size of blue jays can't accomplish. So, you can look for a bird feeder with a treadle or weighted perch. Larger, heavier birds will descend to the ground over the bird food when they settle on a treadle. Lightweight birds may get the food since the treadle does not slide down when they perch. Additionally, this trick also works against squirrels if you are looking to shoo them too. Hang a mirror or reflective tape made with discarded CDs Blue jays might wish to avoid your yard if reflective items are hanging around. This so successfully deters these aggressive birds because birds appear to be susceptible to confusion caused by shiny and reflecting things. Birds' inability to fly is hampered by their inability to comprehend reflections when they encounter reflecting things. When hanging and reflecting on things, you also have choices. To frighten the birds, you may, for instance, put old CDs and DVDs next to the feeder. Mirrors and similar items might also be used. Even better, because they would at least look lovely. Reflective tape is simple to place in whatever location and this is an excellent strategy to keep blue jays out of certain areas since they will opt to avoid reflecting things. No matter where in the yard you're attempting to keep these birds away from, this technique will be helpful to you. Conclusion You may attempt from this variety of methods to get aggressive blue jays to quit visiting your garden. Just take your time and carefully weigh all of your alternatives to ensure that you choose wisely. It will be simpler for you to then execute your plan to ward off these noisy birds. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What food source can I avoid to dissuade blue jays from visiting my yard? Blue jays feed on a variety of nuts and seeds. They like acorns and they love peanuts. If you plan to avoid having blue jays in your backyard, then be sure not to serve peanuts in any of your feeders otherwise blue jays would swarm your garden. How to know if a blue jay can attack? Blue jays raise their perky blue crest above their heads when they feel threatened or are aggressive. So, if you encounter a blue jay with a raised crest, be sure not to meddle its way. Can I use the radio to scare off blue jays? Yes, installing a radio or other musical instrument that plays loud music in the garden can help to scare off these blue jays as well. Even the bravest invaders will be frightened by it. So, you can for sure leverage some loud symphonies to threaten these raucous bullies. What are Blue Jays scared of? It's a tough bird, but they're certainly not big among them. They must also form mobs for defence. There are many large birds that blue jays love to keep away. These men fear snakes, as well. What does it mean when you have a lot of Blue Jays in your yard? Blue jays represent God's signs to you that you are on the right track. A Blue Jay residing near you indicates that your goal will remain. Check out a complete guide on Blue Jay Meaning and Symbolism.