Just the Right Fit....

Our neighborhood has a nesting pair of Steller Jays.  They are shy and bossy and pushy and oh my god Noisy.  It is the harshest screech in the morning symphony and a bit startling. 

I have never been able to attract them to the feeder on a regular basis.  Our two big trees make a good hiding place for them.  They are fond of the “upper canopy”.  They can be lured with the right food.  Hazel Nuts, peanuts, the like.  My neighbor Mike has a few that were intruding on his feeding of the crows.  So I hunted down some peanuts.

Not just a few peanuts, 25 lbs of them. Un-roasted, un-salted.  Out of the ground, dried and stuffed into a very nice bag.

I started to put out a few.  They were reluctant to come.  Then they started to complain if the peanuts were not readily available.  I created a little platform close to the house so I have great viewing.  They clear them up in about an hour’s time.

The jays are much smaller than the crows.  At least by half.  While the crows can carry away two maybe three peanuts in their beak, the jay can only carry one.  Our great friend Patty said she had seen the jays at her mom’s house be very picky about which one they choose. 

She is very right.  They are picky but it is because they want to carry two away at a time.  One has to be just the “right fit” to go down into the gullet and the other in the beak.  I have watched how they choose, smaller, no stem.  Evenly sized.  The beak on does not matter.  They will pick up and examine several before trying to swallow. 

As soon as the payload is ready, they fly off to a number of secret locations.  Someone has a hiding place in their yard or gutter or some other stash full of peanuts. A stash they remember.

Just the right fit.  Watching them makes me appreciate the work done on finding the right cells for everyone.  Right now we are trying to balance Meb’s medication and it is taking a bit of time.  It is not instant.