Scrub Jay Yard Behavior (Arapahoe)

[Jared Del Rosso]

This morning (11/16), I went to fill my empty platform feeder (Centennial [Arapahoe Co.]). Typically, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Black-capped Chickadees fly into my yard when I shake the bird seed bag. Today, the chickadees were slow to arrive, but a Red-breasted Nuthatch was joined by a magpie and a scrub jay. The three watched me from nearby as I poured seed into the feeder.

Apparently, I didn't do this quickly enough for the scrub jay. After watching me for a time, it left its close perch, went to the back of my yard, and retrieved a cached peanut (in the shell) before flying into a neighbor's conifers. Soon after, a second scrub jay arrived in the yard. I suspect the first scrub jay is the one that's been in the neighborhood since October, as I haven't been putting out peanuts in the shell for a while. (It's possible, though, that this isn't that bird, but one that cached a peanut in my yard from a neighbor's feeder. Who knows.) 

Later, I noticed a Black-capped Chickadee bring a piece of peanut to my still-frozen bird bath. I don't know if it was hoping to dunk the peanut or if it was just looking for a good spot to hammer away at its meal. 

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO