💥Back Yard Bullies: SCREAMING Squirrel vs. FURIOUS Jay!💥

Such drama in the back yard! I had to take down all the feeders after the back yard bear kept crashing the place, but finally relented, and when I put everything back up, we were soon overrun with wildlife. I was delighted to see a Steller's jay after a very long absence - you hear them before they see them, as they screech and screech, then flap down and bob around for seeds. While they're among my favorite birds, they aren't very bright and can't seem to navigate to get up to the feeders, though they flap around looking ungainly while they attempt to hook on somewhere. In this video I happened to be outside with the camera when a small war broke out. The jay was screeching, and a squirrel was snarling back at him. It went back and forth for  a while, and must have been a territorial thing because the jay finally flew over to the tree where the squirrel was hunching and flapping its tail and swearing in squirrel. It ended in a draw in which the jay took off, but soon reappeared when the squirrel frisked off to another tree.

Flickers and jays, oh happy days! Return of the Back Yard Birds

GLEEP GLEEP

FUN FACTS from Wikipedia: Like other jays, the Steller's jay has numerous and variable vocalizations. One common call is a harsh SHACK-Sheck-sheck-sheck-sheck-sheck series; another skreeka! skreeka! call sounds almost exactly like an old-fashioned pump handle; yet another is a soft, breathy hoodle hoodle whistle. Its alarm call is a harsh, nasal wah. Some calls are sex-specific: females produce a rattling sound, while males make a high-pitched gleep gleep.

You guys are at the wrong feeder!

Note how our lovely flicker (a type of woodpecker) hammers away at the feeder. This sort of bird usually eats grubs and bugs.  I have no idea why she showed up that day, or stayed so long. It was a sort of mystical experience.

I also had no idea a Steller's jay would eat suet, but the way he's going at it, I think he'd eat just about anything. I'm posting these here strictly so I can TRY to post them on Facebook.