Question about Jays, Acorns, and Beech Mast

Hmm yes a most interesting bird is the jay but then again all covids are, also a paradox too in many ways getting up to all sorts of mischief, and yet “another bird that defies reason” in their actions. They are supposed to be shy bird’s and indeed they often are but just when you think you understand them, well say no more.


They also seem too much prefer the larger acorn that have the highest nutritional value avoiding those that are not so but then again they will also eat almost anything.


So will they eat beech mast, yes they will and hazel nuts too you have probably noticed their tasks seem to be a learning process in that they watch others in their approach to solving problems whist others seem to have an inbuilt instinct. And your last question, well I think you probably already ready know the answer to that one, very clever bird’s those covids.


Anting is yet another thing they take part in, I have also seen house sparrows, starlings, crows, and magpies carrying out this activity but one wonders if this is only carried out by certain individuals within each species. This may be why it is not seen more often that is, only my personal opinion mind you but anting is a form of bird behavior that has yet to be explained even by the experts. Some say birds use the formic acid as a sort of fungicide / insect repellent while others say birds get vitamin D from the acid. There are still others that insist it is used to aid preening there is even a theory that anting is used to induce some sort of high because apparently some birds have been seen to lose control over their bodies i.e. unable to stand / walk. But that would imply that some individuals are in fact drug addicts would it not! 


There are of course many more species that participate in this activity than the few I have mentioned and neither is it confined to this part of the world, it may be this phenomena will always remain a mystery known only by the birds themselves. Now that is a thought is it not! What a bird is the jay. 

My jays don't touch acorns or hazelnuts and oddly neither do the red squirrels. Think a lot of their feeding habits depend on the environment they live in. They dig around in the borders, presumably for worms, and when we had the ants that suddenly take to the wing (can't remember their name)a couple of jays almost looked as if they were having a sand bath in them. I love jays but at the moment the babes are driving me up the pole.