The Scrub Jays Rule

The pair of scrub jays that are currently patrolling our backyard are at the top of the pecking order and that includes the other songbirds, the marauding squirrels, our cat Ella…and us.

I think scrub jays are by far one of the most beautiful birds of all, the fact that this bird is so common in our area in no way diminishes its beauty in my eye. This bird is a multi-hued wonder: white streaked with grey underneath, a thin white “eyebrow” streak coming off of each eye, grey patch just behind the head and a soothing shade of  azure blue everywhere else. If you’d never seen a scrub jay your first glimpse would have you thinking that perhaps it had just jumped off the palette of an impressionist painter. Scrub jays have  big personalities, they hop about our yard with such confidence and bravado, switching their heads from side to side as if to say “Hey, look at me!”

I know for a fact that our scrub jays have a nest somewhere in one of the many trees that border our yard, just exactly which tree is a mystery that I’m happy to just let be. These birds are extremely protective of their nest, dive bombing and squawking at any perceived threat to their impending fledglings. Their most vociferous rancor is reserved for Ella. Cats are natural predators of birds so of course Mr. and Mrs. Jay hone in on her. Ella loves to hang out with me and Carol in the yard while we garden. She’s a keen observer of birds but as far as I know has never hurt one. Ella is content to find a sunny spot and lie down  while she “supervises” our work. But alas, the jays give her not one moment of peace. They find a convenient perch as close to her as they can, squawking non stop and occasionally swooping down within a foot or two of her. When Ella tires of this, she’ll find a different spot and this game of “cat and bird” continues anew. Poor Ella, all she wants is to laze about on a sunny spring day but the jays will have none of it.

Another part of the menagerie in our semi-wild backyard are a pair of squirrels. They’ve settled down in our yard for the past several years and why not? They’ve got shelter, water and food; gnawing at fresh cherry blossoms in the spring, munching on downed apples in fall, trying and sometimes succeeding in knocking one of our bird feeders to the ground to feast on the seeds. These little rodents are wily, energetic and very smart. They’re a bit of a pain but for the most part it’s entertaining to watch their exploits. In the match up of Squirrel vs Jay, the jay wins every time. Squirrels are a real threat to their nest so the jays dive bomb them with what looks like an intent to harm. The squirrel will fly from tree to tree with a jay right at its heels. It’s a lightning fast chase, a blur of blue and grey, fur and feather.

Of course neither Carol nor I are immune to the nest protecting wrath of the jays. In the absence of Ella or one of the squirrels we too will get dive bombed and squawked at. I gotta hand it to these birds, they are fearless.

What’s playing out in the domestic setting of our yard goes on just the same out in the wild. We humans really aren’t much different from our animal brethren, we do whatever it takes to protect the ones we love from harm.  So squawk on dear scrub jays, we’ll do our best to keep our distance.