valleylynn said:Connie has your jay been up to any other mischief lately? Would have been great if you had a camera handy.
I really do think they have a playful streak.
Those jays are gone now. They probably don't live but a few years. But I have a few photos I took in 2007. There were two birds in particular that stood out; I named them Heckle and Jeckle with Heckle being the one I adored and amused me the most. I believe they were siblings and very young when they first appeared in my yard. I provided peanuts and they provided the entertainment:
Here is Heckle moving in on a bag of peanuts, just off my patio:
Moving in on it:
I moved the bag to the step just outside the sliding patio door. The next two photos look a little funny because they were very dark and I had to lighten them up to be able to see the bird. Note that I was standing right inside lthe door for the photo:
Here Heckle is trying to figure out how to get to those peanuts!
Heckle would routinely come into my kitchen for a few peanuts if the door was left open. Sidekick Jeckle was always around but not so brave. But he had it figured that he could just steal Heckle's nuts after watching where they were cached. And that kept Heckle coming back for more.
I learned a lot about jays during the three years those two were here. I had read about how smart they were and I witnessed the proof. Heckle was pretty cheeky, to say the least. I always kept a few nuts in my pocket when working in the yard. Every where I worked, Heckle was there. And when I looked around, I would see Jeckle watching from a distance. Even when I sat in a lawn chair Heckle would cautiously sidle up and snatch a nut off my shoe.
