Are jays the gardener's friend or foe? Our readers speak out

How do you feel about jays? We recently asked this question in Sunset, and 836 readers responded. An astonishing 90 percent of their letters were ardently pro-jay, with only 10 percent anti-jay. Frankly, we expected more of a split decision on these feisty, raucous birds. Perhaps the key to the avalanche of jay fan mail was the protective attitude expressed by many:

"I just had to write, since I'm afraid that jays don't have many friends."

"I bet I'm one of the few people who really like these birds. My neighbor would never forgive me if she knew I put out peanuts for the jays."

Many of the letters revealed new insights into jay behavior. Others raised questions about jay habits, addressed in the following pages. The common name, blue jay, actually refers to a primarily Eastern bird, Cyanocitta cristata. The two jays that frequent Western gardens are the scrub jay and the Steller's jay (see box on page 196).

Scrub jays are particularly fond of suburban living and make their presence known in back gardens all over the West. Steller's jays prefer coniferous areas, but their territory may overlap with that of the scrub jays. They're also found in colder, high-elevation regions, including parts of Alaska.

Einsteins of the bird world?

If you observe jays even briefly, you can't help but notice how clever they are. Ornithologists rate them high in intelligence, Their very brightness is why many people find jays so endearing while others find

them so exasperating.

"I was delighted to discover that jays could learn to come to my whistle."

"You'd never fool a jay with one of those blow-up owls or snakes. They'd just laugh at you."

"I wish they would go away. I've tried everything to discourage them, but they're just too smart. I've started putting food out for them, since I'm convinced that someday they'll rule the world."

It seems these intelligent birds can even train their human providers. Many jay fans tell of having been manipulated:

"When he's hungry, Irving just taps on the window until I bring out his food."

"If we are late getting up in the morning, the jays fly around the side of the house where our bedroom is and scream until we fill the feeders."

Jays are bright enough to respond to training themselves, and letters described jays tame enough to eat from a hand, perch on a knee, or come to a special call. Of course, as some of our respondents pointed out, you may be putting your "pet" jay at risk by taming it, since this could make the bird less wary in the wild.

The tough-guy image

Jays show their boldness most dramatically in the way they treat the family pet: "Jays dive-bombed my cat so much that he became completely demoralized, and would run for the house whenever he heard a bird."

"My dog finally gave up defending his bowl. He just sits there, looking miserable, as the jays finish his dinner."

"The jays hang upside down from the gutter and stare through the window at my cat. This drives the cat wild."

This is not just orneriness, however. Jays tend to be most strident in spring, when they are defending their nests, Yearround, they are fearless in competing for food, and can bluff animals many times their size.

Jays do defer to one another, however, and several readers noticed the differences in jay personalities:

"There are all different types of jays. I've seen aggressive jays, shy jays, clumsy jays, and 'plain' jays."

"The Steller's jay is king of the birds at my feeder, unless a scrub jay comes in. Then no one can eat until the scrub jay has finished."

Research has shown that jays have a pecking order, which is related to their territory. Tbe status of a bird varies, depending on how close it is to the nesting ground. The top bird is always the owner of the territory, and birds lose rank as they wander farther from their homes.

The scrub jay tends to dominate the slightly less aggressive Steller's jay. Generally, all other birds common to backyard feeders bow out when jays arrive. However, a few readers noticed mourning doves holding their own:

"I saw a mourning dove stay at the feeder in spite of jays screeching at him. He puffed himself up like a cat threatened by a dog. The jays pretended they didn't see him, but let him eat, nevertheless."

Dining preferences (definite) and manners (deplorable)

Battles at feeders concerned many of our respondents, Many anti-jay comments focused on this aspect of jay behavior:

"I get so angry when I see the jays sneak up on the small birds at my feeder, then charge in screaming."

One way to reduce this builying of other birds is to place jays' favorite foods in special feeding stations away from other feeders.

Avoid using a commercial seed mix that's laced with a few sunflower seeds; jays will sift through the entire mix to get these.

"The jays bail out my feeders to get to the sunflower seeds. They have dumped as much as a quart of seed on the ground." If you keep a feeding station for jays, you might want to consider using raw peanuts in the shell. This is far and away their favorite food, according to the majority of our letter writers: