I witnessed something amazing today and I thought that I'd tell you all about it while it's fresh in my mind! I joined this website simply because I ended up with a fledgling blue jay and needed help and advice on raising him. I'm not a bird enthusiast in particular, but I am an enthusiast of all life, and all animals. This behavior that I witnessed was absolutely astounding, and I have never witnessed or heard anything like this.
For a large part of the day, I watched a red bellied woodpecker travel up and down a tree which is growing right beside our deck. On the deck there is a bird feeder filled with seed, and also a cat dish, always filled with cat food, that the blue jays and tufted titmouses enjoy eating from. The woodpecker was clearly aiming to get a bite to eat, but could not seem to overcome it's fear and shyness long enough to actually get any food. It continued to travel up and down the trunk for many hours, hiding on the far side of the trunk and peeking around when it thought nobody was looking.
Later that day, I gave up on seeing the woodpecker eat. It was just too shy to come so close to the house. Just then, a blue jay landed on the trunk of that same tree. It looked around for a long while, checking for people or cats, and then made a loud "cah!cah!cah!". Almost immediately, the woodpecker flew down from the branches of the tree and landed directly beside the blue jay. Both of the birds looked around from this point for a moment more, then the blue jay flew to the railing of the deck, still looking about itself. The woodpecker flew to the cat dish for the first time, ate a few peices of cat food, and all the while, the blue jay kept watch. When the woodpecker was done eating, both of the birds flew away together.
Since that first time, I have witnessed the same thing happen over and over. Always the blue jay comes first, looks for danger, calls to the woodpecker, who appears immediately, and then keeps a look-out while the woodpecker gets something to eat. Then they fly away together! It's absolutely incredible; the blue jay never even gets anything to eat himself, so it isn't as though they are working together for the benefit of them both. The blue jay appears to be acting completely selflessly!
I have a theory that this particular blue jay is the mother of the fledglings which I found on the ground in this same yard. Because her babies died, except for the one which I am raising, I believe she may simply be applying her mothering instincts to the only candidate she could find; the shy, fearful woodpecker.
Of course, this is only a theory, but as I watch this phenomenon over and over again, it is impossible to deny the intentions of this jay; to make sure that the woodpecker get something to eat!
I find this even more incredible and hard to believe because of the territorial nature of the blue jay. I aim to shoot a video of this as soon as I can!
What do you think? Have you ever heard of anything like this happening? Is this normal behavior?
For a large part of the day, I watched a red bellied woodpecker travel up and down a tree which is growing right beside our deck. On the deck there is a bird feeder filled with seed, and also a cat dish, always filled with cat food, that the blue jays and tufted titmouses enjoy eating from. The woodpecker was clearly aiming to get a bite to eat, but could not seem to overcome it's fear and shyness long enough to actually get any food. It continued to travel up and down the trunk for many hours, hiding on the far side of the trunk and peeking around when it thought nobody was looking.
Later that day, I gave up on seeing the woodpecker eat. It was just too shy to come so close to the house. Just then, a blue jay landed on the trunk of that same tree. It looked around for a long while, checking for people or cats, and then made a loud "cah!cah!cah!". Almost immediately, the woodpecker flew down from the branches of the tree and landed directly beside the blue jay. Both of the birds looked around from this point for a moment more, then the blue jay flew to the railing of the deck, still looking about itself. The woodpecker flew to the cat dish for the first time, ate a few peices of cat food, and all the while, the blue jay kept watch. When the woodpecker was done eating, both of the birds flew away together.
Since that first time, I have witnessed the same thing happen over and over. Always the blue jay comes first, looks for danger, calls to the woodpecker, who appears immediately, and then keeps a look-out while the woodpecker gets something to eat. Then they fly away together! It's absolutely incredible; the blue jay never even gets anything to eat himself, so it isn't as though they are working together for the benefit of them both. The blue jay appears to be acting completely selflessly!
I have a theory that this particular blue jay is the mother of the fledglings which I found on the ground in this same yard. Because her babies died, except for the one which I am raising, I believe she may simply be applying her mothering instincts to the only candidate she could find; the shy, fearful woodpecker.
Of course, this is only a theory, but as I watch this phenomenon over and over again, it is impossible to deny the intentions of this jay; to make sure that the woodpecker get something to eat!
I find this even more incredible and hard to believe because of the territorial nature of the blue jay. I aim to shoot a video of this as soon as I can!
What do you think? Have you ever heard of anything like this happening? Is this normal behavior?
