More than a Mouthful
One of the reasons Blue Jays are on my top 5 favorite Minnesota birds list is that they're among the few brightly colored birds that stick around through our winters.
Right now, the Blue Jays are busy preparing for the lean months ahead. I was astounded to read that a Blue Jay will collect a hundred or more acorns per day during the fall. In a single season, one can store between 3,000 to 5,000 acorns.
Scientists tell us they bury each acorn in a separate spot, sometimes up to a mile and a half apart, and retrieve it later. However, I have to wonder if some of these statistics are a bit embellished along the way.
Blue Jays have a unique ability to carry up to five acorns at once. They hold one in their bill and tuck the others in a special throat pouch. I don't know if this Blue Jay had more acorns stashed in its pouch, but the one it had certainly seemed to stymie its squawking for a bit.
(Photographed near Cambridge, MN)
More than a Mouthful
One of the reasons Blue Jays are on my top 5 favorite Minnesota birds list is that they're among the few brightly colored birds that stick around through our winters.
Right now, the Blue Jays are busy preparing for the lean months ahead. I was astounded to read that a Blue Jay will collect a hundred or more acorns per day during the fall. In a single season, one can store between 3,000 to 5,000 acorns.
Scientists tell us they bury each acorn in a separate spot, sometimes up to a mile and a half apart, and retrieve it later. However, I have to wonder if some of these statistics are a bit embellished along the way.
Blue Jays have a unique ability to carry up to five acorns at once. They hold one in their bill and tuck the others in a special throat pouch. I don't know if this Blue Jay had more acorns stashed in its pouch, but the one it had certainly seemed to stymie its squawking for a bit.
(Photographed near Cambridge, MN)