Whenever we discover birds are nesting on our property, we always keep our fingers crossed that nest predators such as other birds, snakes, mammals and even ants might destroy eggs, hatchlings or even adults.  When we think about potential nest predators, the blue jay invariably comes to mind.  It has long had the reputation being a major nest predator.

       However, the results of at least one research project suggest that blue jays may not deserve their bad reputation.  This conclusion is based on the fact that blue jays devoured the eggs and young of only one percent of the nests destroyed by nest predators during the study.