Since blue jays are too noisy, aggressive, and messy, many people don’t like them in their backyard. But, we love blue jays and like to see them moving here and there in our backyard. If you love blue jays like us, you should know how to attract blue jays to your yard.
We have made a list of 9 exclusive ways to attract these beautiful songbirds. In this article, we’re going to talk about those ways with some recommendations. We will also share with you a few answers to the questions many blue jay lovers have already asked us.
If you want to know the diet of blue jays in different seasons, you can read our article on what blue jays eat. Also, in order to learn the ways to lure cardinals, we have recently written an article on this topic. You’re welcome to read that article once finished here.
Related Blog: How To Get Rid of Aggressive Blue Jays
How Can You Attract Blue Jays?
To attract blue jays, you’ll need to provide them with their favorite foods, suitable feeders, slightly large, shallow birdbaths, plenty of plants to shelter and make nests, and safety from predators, like squirrels and feral cats.
#01. Offer Blue Jays Their Favorite Foods
The best way to attract blue jays is to provide them with their favorite foods. These birds prefer a variety of sunflower seeds, whether it’s black oil or striped, nor whether shelled or whole. They also eat peanuts in any form: shelled, whole, or even peanut butter.
You can also offer them cracked corn or whole kernels. A single blue jay eats up to 10 kernels at once. The other foods that can attract blue jays are suet, mealworms, and a variety of small fruits and berries. Oftentimes, they consume acorns from oak trees.
If you really want to attract blue jays to your yard with food, we recommend you choose Kaytee Wild Bird Black Oil Sunflower from Amazon. You can also offer some mixed seeds. In this case, the Kaytee Songbird Blend from Amazon could be a better option for you.
#02. Install Blue Jay Friendly Feeders
If you’re willing to lure blue jays with seeds and grains, you will need to place large platform feeders or hopper feeders in your backyard. In order to offer suet, you should mount suet feeders. Since these birds usually have a length of 9 to 12 inches, don’t provide them with tube feeders.
Besides, blue jays are bulkier than most other songbirds, weighing on average 3 ounces. That’s why you should not install hanging feeders that swing with air as blue jays won’t get any support. Instead, place ground or pole-mounted feeders. You can also purchase peanut wreaths.
Are you looking for quality feeders for blue jays? You can take a look at Nature’s Way Platform Bird Feeder on Amazon. If you are willing to opt for hopper feeders, we recommend you check out the Woodlink Absolute II Squirrel Resistant Bird Feeder on Amazon.
#03. Place the Feeders in the Right Spot
The right spot for placing the feeders for blue jays is near trees or shrubs. This is because these birds can eat by sitting in the trees or shrubs or fly away when predators are near the feeders. Make sure to place the feeders in the shade (try to avoid the sun).
As we have already stated, mount the feeders on the ground or attach them to feeder poles. If you don’t have a feeder pole, you can opt for the Yosager Bird Feeder Pole from Amazon. Do you want to observe blue jays? Don’t sit close to the feeders. Rather, watch them from distance.
#04. Keep Your Feeders Clean
Offering delicious treats in suitable feeders is not enough to attract blue jays in your yard again and again. Blue jays may not be willing to come to your messy feeders. So, you should always keep the feeders clean to invite these large songbirds.
You may need to clean up any leftover fruits and berries, nutshells, seed shells, leftover mealworms, and corn residues. Make sure to clean the feeders thoroughly before refilling them with new batches of foods.
#05. Install a Birdbath
Every day, blue jays need to drink enough water as well as bathe in freshwater. If you want to attract these large songbirds, you have to place a birdbath in your backyard. The birdbath should be wide and relatively deep, at least 3 inches, to accommodate multiple blue jays.
During winter, blue jays, along with other songbirds, don’t find enough water because many water sources get frozen. As these birds are year-round residents in their territory, heated birdbaths could be better for them, particularly in winter. A small fountain can double their fun.
If you don’t have a birdbath in your yard, we recommend you choose the Kante Concrete Birdbath from Amazon. In order to keep the water liquid in winter, you will need a heater for your birdbath. The GESAIL Birdbath Deicer Heater from Amazon is our recommendation.
#06. Lure Blue Jays with Right Plants
Since blue jays are wild birds, planting more trees, particularly large trees, around your yard can provide these birds multiple options to feed on, perch, and build nests. They mainly prefer oak woodlands, although you can find them just about anywhere.
If you don’t have the opportunity to live near the forest, we suggest growing some native trees, such as oak, beech, and pinyon pine trees in your yard. Adding these trees to your backyard will not only help you lure blue jays but also enhance the beauty of your backyard.
#07. Allows Them to Store Foods under Leaf Litter
Blue jays usually hide their foods for winter so that they can survive cold winter months. These birds store seeds and nuts under leaf litter or in the crevices of trees during the fall. To do this, they may take some treats from your backyard feeders to bury under oak trees.
Unfortunately, blue jays forget most of the hidden foods. Therefore, they become small plants in the nest spring. If you allow blue jays to camouflage their fall catches under leaf litter, these beautiful birds will visit your yard again and again throughout the year.
#08. Encourage Nesting in Your Yard
Blue jays usually create multiple nests in old, large trees. These wild birds don’t make cavity nests, and they don’t even use birdhouses. The main reason for building several nests is that once they detect a predator that tends to attack them, they will move right away.
When making nests, female blue jays participate more in construction. On the other hand, male blue jays gather essential nesting materials, such as sticks, twigs, and grass clippings. If you want to attract blue jays, your yard should be available with these materials.
#09. Keep Them Away from Predators
Do you know how many birds are killed by outdoor cats every year? It’s nearly 2.4 billion birds only in the United States. Most birds that are killed by cats are songbirds. As blue jays are one of the songbirds, they can be attacked by outdoor cats.
Not only cats, but squirrels are also another predator for blue jays. They can fight off the blue jays for nuts and seeds. For this reason, we recommend you opt for a squirrel-proof bird feeder. Besides, keep your house dogs and cats indoors when blue jays are in your backyard.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What kind of birdseed do blue jays not like?
Blue jays like all types of seeds, except for nyjer (thistle) seeds. If you’re willing to attract blue jays to your backyard, make sure not to provide nyjer seeds in the feeders. The birdseed mixes you offer shouldn’t include these seeds.
2. Are Blue Jays friendly to humans?
Blue jays are loud and aggressive, creating noise and attacking other songbirds. However, if you offer these birds their favorite foods, suitable feeders, and other useful pieces of stuff in your backyard, they will regularly visit you and therefore become friendly to you.
3. How do I attract blue jays in winter?
Make sure to provide bird feeders with lids so that the seeds and nuts you provide can remain fresh. Offer a heated birdbath or use a deicer in your existing birdbath to allow blue jays to drink and bathe in harsh winter weather.
Final Words
Now that you know how to attract blue jays, you can accommodate plenty of blue jays throughout the year. Always make sure to offer them fresh seeds and nuts. Keep your yard feeders clean because blue jays may not come to your dirty feeders.
However, we hope you’ve learned a lot about attracting blue jays to your yard. If you have any experience in attracting these beautiful wild birds, you can share it with us by leaving comments below. Share the article with your friends who are fond of backyard bird watching.
Image Source:
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- flicker.com
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