In my youth in Ontario I really enjoyed two of the

common feeder birds Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals.

Okay I liked flashy. We do not get Northern Cardinals

here and while we normally have Blue Jays in the

neighbourhood they are not as obvious as they are in

Ontario. I suspect the large numbers of Magpies and

possibly the Crows push the them down in the pecking

order. To see if I could attract them I put out a peanut

feeder with a home made squirrel shield. The squirrels

still get some nuts but it prevents them from actually

chewing the feeders apart as they do with other plastic

feeders.  The sparrows, finches, nuthatches and squirrels

enjoy the peanuts but while I saw a jay check it out a week

ago they did not come. I filled the feeder and went out of

town for a couple of days. When I got back the feeder

 was empty and yesterday I saw why, success. I also

noticed the jay seemed to be able to to take four or five

peanuts at once. So our yard is a more colourful and  much

noisy place.

This also gives me a chance to revisit a poem

I enjoy and one that influenced several quotes

etc. used in my blogs.

" Forked sticks upon the air,

Half-dead trees, where two

Blue jays shriek the summer sky

To a deaf world, their blue

The only water here.

The sun is axeman among dry

Slashing: he would clear

Kindling from these rocky hills:

The logos as belated pioneer,

One cry with the fanatic jay. ..,"

                          Blue Jay in Haliburton

                               D.G. Jones