BACKYARD SECRET – BLUE JAYS HAVE A NEAT WAY TO CARRY LOTS OF ACORNS
backyardwildlifeconnection by Terry W.Johnson
The acorn is one of the most important foods in the blue jay’s diet. Unwittingly blue jays store (cache) many of the acorns they gather in spots that are sometimes located a few miles away. That being the case, more acorns can be stored in less time if jays could carry several acorns at a time.
Well, as it turns out the blue jay has a simple but effective way to carry up to five or six acorns at a time. It accomplishes this fete by removing the caps of each acorn. If you carefully watch a blue jay collecting acorns, you will find that, in most cases, it removes the cap from each nut before stuffing it into its mouth.
It is equally amazing to me that blue jays bury each acorn with its tip down. It sounds similar to the way we plant bulbs with the bottom of each bulb facing downward. Since jays never find all of the acorns they bury, unbeknownst to them they are planting oaks.
If you just take the time to watch a bird, there is no telling what you will learn.
