How do you get rid of blue jays that are eating all of the chicks in my birdhouses? I enjoy watching the baby sparrows grow in the birdhouses. Today blue jays arrived and ate all of the chicks.
I know it is life and I eat meat, but I do not want to go to the slaughter houses. Maybe it is time for me to get involved in the food chain. I am an animal lover and know more than the average person about birds, animals, etc. I guess I am just blowing off steam at this moment.
Thank you for reading this. I have nursed many a baby bird and many animals back to life. I am the gut you see pulled over on the side of a busy highway trying to catch a lost dog. I also have pulled over to save a 40 pound snapping turtle.
Eddie
By EDDIEM from NJ
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I totally agree with you that it is heartbreaking to watch the blue jays. I have found that Darwin's law does prevail here though. Some of the sparrows that nest in my yard have wised up and nested in houses as opposed to the arborvitae that others prefer.
I have a nest of what I've concluded are Mockingbirds on the top of the light fixture on my front porch. It's a small porch that I normally sit on alot but they made the nest in like a day and I've not sat there since. I notice that there aren't many birds around anymore and I usually have many birds. I've read that is one of their "traits". They run other birds out. The male sings all night long (at least anytime I go outside after 11 pm. I've gotten to where I do like them. The mama doesn't fly out anymore when she sees me and I park my car in my carport adjacent to the porch. When I open my door and step out, I'm right at the porch. I talk to her everytime I leave and come home. I don't know if the eggs have hatched but she isn't bringing food so I doubt they are. This afternoon I was on my carport talking on the phone and she flew out of the nest and landed within 3 feet of me. She just looked at me for the longest time and then flew to the tree.
I also have 2 Blue Jays around today. My sister was visiting and we were standing right off the carport and the first Blue Jay swooped down and then landed on a limb about 100 feet or so from us and just look at us. It definitely scared me because I they are big compared to the Mockingbird or Wrens around here. Do you think they are going after the nest? How can I stop it from happening if so? I know people don't like Mockingbirds because they run other birds off but I don't want these eggs/hatchlings to be eaten. I've grown fond of the mama. The daddy hasn't been around in 2 days now and do you think the Blue Jays ran him off?
Thanks for reading my long story and I can't believe I've gotten so involved in these birds but I have so I need to learn some things.
I just had a war with 10 Bluejays trying to kill all the babies of Robins that nest in my yard. The Robins started to yell and I grabbed my garden hose...they don't like being sprayed. It took 45 minutes but they're gone. The Robins watched and when the jays were flying away they gave a short chase.
I can't stand watching those aggressive birds eating baby birds. So try the garden hose, it works
Ty for your comment I will place a feeder of the examples of food on our other side of our property!!!
I now have a reason to go to McDonalds and get the happy meal!!
My sparrows are in bird houses and we s had to chase 3 Blue Jays away today. Has anyone tried caging in the house. Or removing the perch? Does this work
Are you sure these are BLUE JAYS OR BLUE BIRDS? Might you be meaning SCRUB JAYS? They are the aggressive birds that will attack people, cats, dogs as well as other birds. If they have a nest nearby they will protect it at all costs.
Are you sure these are BLUE JAYS OR BLUE BIRDS? Might you be meaning SCRUB JAYS? They are the aggressive birds that will attack people, cats, dogs as well as other birds. If they have a nest nearby they will protect it at all costs. But once the babies have fledged the Scrub Jay is pretty much like any other bird. Although a bit noisy with its screech.
I just watched the two collared dove babies get attacked by a blue jay, one yesterday and one today. I believe that the baby doves are killed and eaten, and yes, it WAS a blue jay, I believe the same one. The one who got attacked today really broke my heart even more, since I was so happy that he/she survived yesterday.
Yes I am heartbroken that these scrub jays have come (twice) and eaten/raided the Mockingbirds nest in my yard not to mention killed the sweet little mother finch and ate all of her newly hatched chicks it's infuriating! I've had so much joy watch every day, build their nest. Guard them and sing their beautiful song only to have these menacing scrub jays and Crows ruin it all! I hate it. Wish I had a pellet gun
I don't have perches on my bird houses but the darn Jay's hang from the roof of the houses and attack the babies ! I was wondering if anyone has tried chicken wire around the house the sparrows could still get in but not the bigger birds ?
I was thinking the same thing my hubby says Im nuts gonna try it
I removed the perch last year after the eggs were stolen. Didnt help.. just today the eggs were stolen from the box :(
We live in Coastal Oregon. Stellar jays are nastiest ever. We have found so many tiny featherless little bodies just lying below the nest. We just looked through some articles you can just screw onto the birdhouse to prevent the bigger birds from getting their heads in. I'm going to find a branch about 3" at the base, drill a 1" hole and attach it over the hole in the bird house. This will impede these 'bratty' birds and be a great launching point when these babies fledge.
Getting rid of Blue Jays: a BB gun. Don't shoot them, shoot adjacent to them EVERYTIME they are around the M'bird nest. Yes, they will eat the chicks. I watched one carry-away a Eurasian Collared Dove chick with 4 other jays in chase for the chick. Made me sick.
Naples, FL
Reads like your ideas re: animals are similar to mine. Jays can be led away from eating other birds & babies by giving them an alternate food supply. Basically they are lazy & smart (like humans) when it comes to food close to home territory. Supply them with 'fast foods' peanuts, sunflower seeds, dry cat food, or another protein & carbo in an area you feel is safe & away from nesters. They crave the protein & carbs (healthy diet) cause they have babies to feed & themselves also. They will keep returning to the easy source, it takes lots of energy to raise kids. Expect to attract other birds & wildlife.
Sparrows are pest birds, not native and not protected. If you do research you will find that they kill our native song birds including birds much larger than they are. Blue jays, bluebirds, swallows and robins. Since sparrows moved into our back yards we rarely see our beautiful songbirds. Male sparrows are unbelievably aggressive. Do not feel sorry for these little terrorists.
It was just two days AFTER I put out my feeder with sunflower seeds and nuts that a blue raided the finch nest on my house gutter. In some ways I felt it was my fault because I drew them to the area (although they were around anyway) with the seeds!
I have a "Wildlife Habitat " in my backyard. I've had it for a few years now and I've only recently seen the behavior of the Jays described here. But I've been a little stingy with the peanuts lately so maybe that has an impact. As for the sparrows I haven't seen them to be overly aggressive. I have more than 17 species of birds that frequent my little sanctuary and I don't think the sparrows are a problem at all.
Now starlings and crackles are another story. When they show up they do so in droves and completely dominate the area. I have to remove the suet cakes and empty the feeders and let it rest for a few days. The first to return are the sparrows followed by finches, cardinals and mockingbirds. The Jays usually wait for the peanuts.
If sparrows are sooo aggressive why dont they try to fight off blue jays etc.....? The blue jays around here are the aggressive ones....i am tired of watching them raid the birdhouse and fly off with a baby sparrow.
Only the ubiquitous house sparrows are considered invasive. The sparrow family is large and varied and have some of the sweetest songs in the spring and summer, besides their interesting markings and flashes of color.
I am so upset you are saying this about sparrows. Those NASTY blue jays are bullies! A couple days ago a blue jay landed on the perch of one of my sparrow houses while the male sparrow was flying wildly around its nest chirping like crazy. I saw it ready to reach in and kill the babies so I jumped up and chased it away. Then, this morning I actually cried because I stepped outside to find a blue jay in the middle of tearing one of the chicks apart! It was a horrendous sight! Thats the second one so far this season it killed from the same box. I want to kill this blue jay so bad for killing these little chicks while mama goes nuts chirping on the fence near the box but cant do anything about it! You might feel sorry for these blue jays but I actually feel sorry for you!
House sparrows are the ONLY "sparrow" not native to the US. They are not a true sparrow and came from Europe.
Thanks as I am the person who wrote the original article more than several years ago. The crazy thing is that I again hit the internet for help as it is years later and the situation is again out of control only to find my plea for help which to my surprize was my written by me years ago. Crazy! Getting old ! Now I know how my Dad felt. It's indeed a new age when you find written compositions by yourself still floating on the internet cloud possibly for eternity ! Like an old book floating in space ! But quite frankly it just exemplifies that nothing is new in the world and the only thing that changes is the clock ! If anyone has any new advice for my dilemma please respond as the Bluejays are feasting on the sparrow chicks as we speak. Well not as this minute because I just scared them away. Being an animal lover I actually notice that the sparrows welcome my presence as they know that when I run and yell in alarm at the blue jays its apparent they realize the dynamics of the almost never ending drill which I may only occurs when I am at home hanging out. The sparrows , no scientific proof , Do Realize I Am Their Allie . On the other hand as soon as the front door creaks as I touch the door handle the blue jays are outta Dodge ! I am not clinically crazy LoL ! I do believe there is a more going on than science will ever know ! Thanks Ed Malesinski NJ 08108 5/5/2012 This time I am dating my thoughts as I might be around longer than I expected. PS if anyone wants to steal my identity you will just have to bills !
If you have sparrows nesting in houses, they are probably House Sparrows. The House sparrow also known as the English sparrow is not native to the US and is an invasive species. It is a fierce competitor of native birds who nest in houses and cavities, and largely detested by birders, farmers, etc. Whereas the Blue jay is a native species, and is protected by US federal law. It is illegal to disturb the Blue jay in any way who is just doing what is natural to feed itself and its offspring.
I have a soft heart, but it's for the Bluebirds and other native cavity nesters, who have fallen victim to the House sparrow (and who also occasionally fall victim to the Blue jay too).
Blue jays are not just innocent birds feeding their young, when they attack nestlings and kill them and eat them. They are predators, carnivores, and one might say, cannibals as they eat their own (birds)... so no sympathy for the blue jay at all. A dozen songbirds (yellow finches) helped protect a nest of house sparrows that had nested in our gutters, but the Blue Jay killed one and we fear, possibly the second. We chased it off (the second time) but only caught it ripping into the flesh of the nestling that first time. Chasing them off here in Canada is fine. Sorry, but I don't care if they are indigenous or invasive-- killing baby birds is not on!
I just had a war with 10 Blue Jays that were trying to kill all the baby Robins in my yard. I used a garden hose, they hate it and can't fly when wet. It took 45 minutes for me to show them they weren't wanted but the entire flock left my street. There were at least 30 in total when they took off.
If you did any research on your nesting boxes they were designed to help native songbirds because of habitat loss and from house sparrows because the aggressive house sparrows kill our native USA songbirds house sparrows were brought here as a mistake I know you mean well but your not supposed to allow house sparrows to use a nesting box by what your doing is helping killer birds (house sparrows) kill some more native birds that dont kill other birds Rules to a nest box are keep out sparrows and put 1 1/8 hole reducer on chickadees box.help our song birds out and not work against them which is what your doing.
I just found a sparrow on the ground this morning and left it there because it may be a fledgling trying to fly, it has a few feathers, and if the parents were around they would know where to find it. Could not see a nest, but when I went out this afternoon a blue jay was flying around and it actually attacked me and I felt a scratch on my head as it went by. I disinfected my scalp with rubbing alcohol, then with hand sanitizer and am going to shampoo my hair because of this too, to make sure I clean it good. Don't believe it broke the skin because neither the rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer stung my skin and I know hand sanitizer does sting if the skin is broken, as it does on my hands when my skin has a cut. But I think the sparrow will die anyway because it has not been fed all day. I do not know how to feed a sparrow. I know you are not supposed to feed earthworms to the birds, even though all the cartoons show the parents feeding worms to their babies. I feel sorry for the sparrow.
If they are English Sparrows throw a party Ive seen them throw swallow nestlings out of a bird house just to take over the nesting site they are no good aggressive invasive displacing native species
Fyi the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a great website for all bird lovers and includes a section on helping nesting birds and thwarting predators
A blue jay has eaten all our baby finches from our nesting boxes! Been watching them do this till the nests are empty! The fly in so fast that you cant stop them! Steve Sleepy Eye Mn!
Are you in the U.S.? Are these House sparrows the jays are going after? If so, I say let nature take it's course. House sparrows are a NON-NATIVE species and they are killing off our native species such as Bluebirds and Tree swallows. They are even more brutal than Blue jays...they peck at ALL of the babies in the nests, through their skulls to their brains. It's horrible. At least the jays kill quickly and it's usually to feed their own young.
Thank you Eddie, we're chasing blue jays away from our tree swallow birdhouse !
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