Today, I’m sharing backyard bird tips on facts about Blue Jays.  Blue Jays can be found in urban as well as suburban areas.  Most people are familiar with Blue Jays.  They are rather large birds and can be easily identified by their beautiful blue, white and black feathers.  Their call is distinctive as well.  Some find Blue Jays to be aggressive.  However, I’ve seen Robins double team a Blue Jay and not back down.  Blue Jays are large compared to other birds.  They are smaller than a crow, but larger than Robins.

Facts About Blue Jays

• Females and males look a lot like. They only way to distinguish one from the other is to observe their behavior.  For example, who courts who or which Jay incubates the eggs etc.
• Jays prefer platform and hopper feeders.
• Resident jays associate in flocks.  ( I have 6 that come to my feeders).
• Jays drink from bird baths.
• Blue Jays feathers are actually brown.  The light causes humans to see blue.
• Related to crows.
• Jays are notorious for hiding acorns in the ground and not retrieving them.  Oak trees are sprouting up across America.
• Known for being highly intelligent.
• Territorial around feeders and their nests.  They will chase away birds, squirrels and other predators.
• Females incubate eggs for 17 – 21 days.
• Males retrieve food for the female during incubation of the eggs.  Additionally, 8 – 12 days after eggs hatch they retrieve food for both mom and babies.
• Blue Jays mate between April and July.
• Blue Jays mate for life.
• Clutch size is 2 – 7 eggs.
• Blue Jay eggs are blue or light brown with speckles.
• They have 1 brood a year.
• Blue Jays will steal and eat other bird’s eggs.  It’s rare, but it does happen.
• Jays mimic hawks to alert their flock of potential danger if one is around.
• The oldest Blue Jay was 26 years and 11 months.  Sadly, it got caught in fishing gear was unable to untangle itself.
• Lifespan is 7 years.

Foods Blue Jays Love

• Peanuts
• Acorn
• Suet
• Cracked Corn
• Peanut Hearts
• Fruit
• Mealworms

I feed my Blue Jays unsalted roasted peanuts; and they devour them. Furthermore, my neighbor has an Oak tree.  Blue Jays love acorns as much as they love peanuts.  I have six Jays that visitor my feeder regularly.  One comes to check out the feeder.  It’s filled with treats, he calls to the flock and descend on the feeder until it’s empty.  If the peanut feeder is empty, they let me know with their loud, distinct call.

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I hope you enjoy my facts about Blue Jays.  Most importantly, I hope that you will attract them to your backyard and watch their interactions.  Nature is amazing.

Today, I’m sharing birding tips on backyard birds that love cherries.  I purchased several pints of second cherries from my local farm market.  They weren’t that tasty, so I decided to give them to the birds rather than trash them.  My backyard birds devoured the cherries each time that I set them out.

So, if you have room try planting cherry trees .  If not, try buying seconds from your local farmer’s market.  I’ve been setting cherries out for several weeks now.  They’re gone within a hour.  The Gray Catbirds, Robins and Cardinals devour cherries.  However, I believe the Catbirds are eating the majority of them.  They built a nest in my Dogwood Tree, and that’s where I place the cherries.

Here’s a list of backyard birds that love cherries:

Yellow-billed Cuckoo –  I’ve never seen a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo in my backyard.  However, I must get to work on attracting them.

Red-bellied Woodpecker – I see the Red-bellied Woodpecker often in the winter.  They love suet, so I make sure there’s plenty.

Downy Woodpecker – Another visitor that I see often in the winter.  They love peanut suet.

Blue Jay – My Blue Jays seemed be more interested in shelled peanuts rather than the cherries.  I have 4 that visit regularly.

Tufted Titmouse – Next, my Tufted Titmouse prefer black-oil sunflower seeds.  Maybe because there’s no cherries left.

Wood Thrush –   I haven’t seen the Wood Thrush around much this summer.  In the winter they are plentiful.

American Robin – Cherries are a favorite.  They love blueberries and blackberries too.  I was fortunate enough to watch a Robin’s nest this spring.  They feed berries to their babies too.

Gray Catbird – The Gray Catbird has had the advantage of the cherries this year.  The early bird gets the cherries.

Northern Mockingbird – I haven’t seen much of the Northern Mockingbird since the spring.  I see them more often at the feeders in the winter.

European Starling – What don’t they eat?  They will devour the feeders in no time.  I don’t see much of them in warm weather.  I change the food that is offered.  Apparently, they don’t like what’s for dinner in my backyard.

Northern Cardinal – Next, my Cardinals prefer Safflower seeds more than anything.  But, Cardinals will eat cherries.  They are my state bird, and are plentiful year round.  They are seen as visitors from heaven.

Red-winged Blackbird – This bird is stunning.  I have seen a few in my backyard this summer; however, not at the feeders.  But, they do come to the feeders in the winter.

Common Grackle– They’re in the same family of the Baltimore Oriole.  Unfortunately, they invade my yard by the dozens.  Thankfully, I haven’t seen much of them this summer.

Baltimore Oriole –  Last, I have not been able to attract the Baltimore Oriole to my backyard.  Not with grapes, cherries, oranges, jelly or anything else.

Finally, try leaving a few cherries in a dish if you don’t have cherry trees.  You will have new backyard birds that love cherries in no time.

Attract West Virginia backyard birds, Zone 6B,  by planting native West Virginia plants.  If you want to take your backyard garden to another level and attract more backyard birds, we have a few tips for you.  Are you wondering what are native plants?  So, native plants were grown thousand of years before Europeans arrived.  If you plant Native West Virginia plants in Zone 6B, you will love your new landscape, and the birds will love it too.

Native West Virginia Plants:

Allegheny Monkey Flower – First, the Monkey Flower is a perennial.  It grows 1 to 3 feet and produces lilac/purple flowers from June to September.  It loves the shade, moist soil and it’s deer resistant.  Personally, I haven’t seen the Allegheny Monkey at any of the local garden centers; however, I’m sure one of the local nurseries will have it.  The Monkey Flower attracts Orioles, Mocking Birds, Thrashers, Humming Birds, Waxwings, Wood Warblers and Sparrow.

American Black Elderberry – Second, the Black Elderberry is a perennial shrub that grows approximately 10 to 15 feet.  It produces white flowers during the summer and black berries in late summer to fall.  Birds love them.  The Elderberry loves partial shade and moist acidic soils.  The Black Elderberry attracts Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Waxwings, Thrashers, and Thrushes.

American Pokeweed –  The American Pokeweed is a perennial.  It is also called Pokeberry.  The particular plant grows in my backyard.  It grows 4 to 10 feet tall.  I cut mine off at about 4 or 5 feet.  It is a very pretty plant producing clusters of small blackberries in the late summer to fall. However, it is poisonous if consumed by humans.

Black Raspberry – So, the black raspberry is a perennial shrub that produces 3 to 5 foot long thorny stems.  It produces juicy dark purple berries in the late summer.  It will grow in both shade or full sun.  Their  is also a variety of this bush that doesn’t have thorns.  I love picking the berries for jam or an ice cream topping, but you must be careful picking the berries.  The thorns aren’t friendly.  It’s a great source of food for birds too.  The Black Raspberry attracts Woodpeckers, Vireos, Mocking Birds, Wood Warblers, Cardinals, Grosbeaks and Nuthatches.

Black Walnut – Additionally, the Black Walnut can reach 75 to 100 feet in height.  My back property is lined with these trees.  They produce walnuts in a green shell.  Each year they drop and the squirrels have a grand time gathering and burying the walnuts.  They are wonderful in brownies.  I wait for the shell to darken and than remove the black hull.  If you decide to indulge, wear gloves because the hulls will stain your hands.  The stain is a night-mare to remove.  They attract Orioles, Wrens, Cardinals, Grosbeaks and more.

Black-eyed Susan – Furthermore, the Black-eye Susan will grow approximately 1 to 2 feet tall in full sun.  The flowers look like daisies.  They are yellow with a brownish color center.  They plant from June to October.  Birds love the seeds.  Unfortunately, the Black-eye Susan is an annual.  As a result, you will have to plant them every year.

Butterfly Milkweed – Next, the milkweed is one of nature’s most important flowers.  It looks beautiful in the landscape, and grows from 1 to 3 feet.  It produces clusters of orange to yellowish orange flowers.  Butterflies and Humming Birds love butterfly milkweed.  The Butterfly Milkweed is drought resistant.  It will grow in the full sun as well as moist soil.  It also attracts the American Gold Finch, Titmouse, Chickadees, Orioles and Mocking Birds.

Flowering Dogwood –  The Flowering Dogwood grows anywhere from 15 to 30 feet tall with a low-branching, flat-topped habit. White or pink flowers bloom in early spring.  In late summer or fall, they produce bright red fruits.  I love my dogwood, which happens to be pink.  My Cat Birds love flowering dogwoods.  Dogwoods attracts Mocking Birds, Grosbeaks, Cardinals, Blue Jays and more. I have my feeders set up in a Dogwood, and I see lots of traffic.

Pink Azalea –  So, the Pink Azalea can grow 6 to 12 feet in height.  It keep mine cut at about 3 to 4 feet.  The clusters of flowers are quite stunning.  It grows best in partial shade.  It attracts Humming Birds, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Wrens, Wood Warblers and more.  I currently have a pink Azalea in my landscape.  However, I try to keep it around 3 feet.

Red Mulberry  – Unfortunately, I cut my Mulberry tree down and replaced it with a rose garden.  I miss it, I miss watching the deer and birds devour the berries.  The trees produce berries every year and can grow to approximately 60 feet tall.  Beware, it can be messy.  It drops mulberries everywhere, which was the deciding factor for me cutting it down.  The berries attract Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Blue Jays, Mocking Birds and more.

Redbud Trees – Redbud, or Eastern Redbud is a small tree.  It grows around 30 feet.  It produces beautiful pink flowers during the summer.  The flowers turn into brown seedpods during the summer through fall.   Redbuds are beautiful in the landscape or along edges of properties.  They attract Finches, Wrens, Cardinals, Humming Birds, Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Vireos and more.

Virginia Strawberry – So, the Virginia Strawberry is also know as Wild Strawberry.  It is perennial that only grows about a foot tall.  It produce white flowers followed by small strawberries.  I have it growing behind my vegetable garden.  How it got there, it’s wild.  They attract Woodpeckers, Wrens, Orioles, Titmouse, Chickadees, Blue Jays and more.

Virginia Creeper –  Last, the Virginia Creeper is climber.  However, it doesn’t damage buildings, fences, trellis etc.  The leaves turn a beautiful red and purplish color in the fall.  The white flowers ripen into small blue berries.  The Virginia Creeper can grown in full sun or shade.  The plant attracts Mockingbirds, Waxwings, Wrens, Chickadees, Titmouse and more.

Finally, I hope that you will plant a few of these native shrubs and trees in your backyard if you live in zone 6B.  You will be able to attract West Virginia backyard birds with these West Virginia Native Plants in no time.  Additionally, you may also like:  How to Attract Catbirds to Your Backyard.