Blue Jay and Cardinal birds are both present year round in my region. These two species of birds are some of the most colourful birds that visit my yard. The behaviour and eating habits of these two species are quite different.
Blue Jays stand out among the birds in my region due to the striking blue colour on their head and wings and their light-coloured chest plumage. Blue Jays are not shy birds. They loudly and persistently announce their presence in the vicinity with their calls. Their visits to my yard are often short—just a few minutes—but they come year round.
I try to keep some peanuts on hand for when I hear the Blue Jays are close to the yard. They will often fly down to get the peanuts I put out before I have started to walk away. The only feed that they seem interested in is peanuts, but I have seen them eat sunflower seeds in the winter on occasion. I find them to be fun and interactive birds. Although they will on occasion raid the nests of the sparrows that are in my hedge for hatchlings, I have only witnessed this once.
Cardinals are another colourful bird that frequently visits my feeders. There is a nest not far away in a hedge that is not mine. Cardinals nest all year in my area of the Ottawa Valley, but unlike Blue Jays, they are generally wary of human interaction. I have never seen a Cardinal show interest in the peanuts that the Blue Jays love; the Cardinals prefer the smaller type of seeds.
The male Cardinal will easily go after sunflower seeds and cracked corn, but the female that visits my feeder will prefer the smaller seeds of red and white millet and nyjer. One joy of having a Cardinal nest close by is that there will usually be a time when the parent Cardinals bring their young fledgling to the yard for lessons in foraging. The Cardinals get along well with the sparrows and finches who visit my feeder, but the female Cardinal has a habit of dominating the feeder and pushing the other birds away.
While Blue Jays and Cardinals are common birds around my area, I always keep a lookout, whether it’s for the playful behaviour and loud calls of the Jays or the stunning red feathers of the male cardinal and the orange and red feathers of the female Cardinal.
Further Resources
The Cornell Lab: Calls and songs of blue Jays, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/sounds
The Heron and Rose 