Polite bluejays mad at me because I yelled at the squirrels. (3 Viewers)

[Engineeringtech]

I really like the bluejays in the neighborhood. They stand patiently on my deck, waiting for the smaller birds to vacate the feeder, before going to it. I wanted to reward that behavior, so I bought a 20 lb. bag of unshelled, unsalted peanuts and started laying them on the deck railing. They loved the peanuts and for a couple weeks I enjoyed watching them land on the railing, hop, hop, hop to the nuts, then try and decide which peanut to take first. The squirrels are really greedy and they take most of the peanuts. I'm on a tight budget, but I didn't mind feeding them too as long as they stay out of the feeder. But now they've discovered how to get into the feeder. They are propelling themselves at the feeder so hard that they keep bending the hook. I fear my nice cedar and redwood feeder will fall off the hook and break. And then my birds will go without until I can afford a new feeder. So I yelled at the squirrels a few times. (Not when I could see any bluejays out in the yard.) But apparently the jays heard me yell at the squirrels and they won't come near the house anymore. The nest is in a neighboring yard.

Any suggestions to re-earn their trust? I really miss their visits.