Blue Jays With Full Mouths

Last autumn at Duke Island Park I was seeing quite a few Blue Jays. Though they're pretty common, they move around quite a bit so I don't get pictures of them as often as I'd like. On this day I got pictures of them with their mouths full.

The 1st one is pretty easily understood; this Blue Jay has found an acorn to eat. They use their beaks to break into the relatively soft acorn shell, break the edible part up into pieces, and enjoy their acorn feast. But given that this picture is from autumn, it's perhaps more likely that the Blue Jay will hide this acorn for a wintertime meal.

Us humans can technically eat acorns ourselves, though acorns from the red oak group of oak trees is generally too bitter for us to enjoy. When humans have eaten acorns, we'll usually get them from the white oak group. I'm not sure that Blue Jays have the same preference.

October 15, 2021 at Duke Island Park
Photo 168430305, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's another Blue Jay with something in its mouth, though it's less clear that this is food. To me it looks like a part of a leaf, which I wouldn't expect to make much of a meal. And since it's not breeding season, I doubt the Blue Jay is building a nest. (Note that most birds consider nests to be nurseries for raising young rather than as a home.) While the activity may not make obvious sense to me, a lot of times there is some logic behind what we see animals do.

October 15, 2021 at Duke Island Park
Photo 168430184, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



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