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you're gonna eat for me you're not being
very cooperative right now come on
you're gonna eat what's your name little
TJ next door named you Billy bird huh
Billy blue jay are you gonna open your
mouth oh come on me here you go whack
come on Billy come on baby
there you go I gotta get you to eat all
right Billy Blue Jay are you ready to
eat Shh come on up up and open come on
you just ate one let's get you to eat -
come on come on I know you're learning
huh come on come on tough guy
yeah we weighed you you're like 51 grams
or something like that here open open
open come on you took one you already
took one come on get my little one
come on so Billy bluej was down by my
neighbor's being pursued by a cat mom
and dad are out there but I can't reach
the nest come on so I had to take him in
I can't get him back in the nest and I
can't leave him on the ground even
though he's not a true fledging I think
he got knocked out of the nest come on
take a piece food hoping you like that
window light now ha you're going towards
it come on
you took one just a little while ago
your first one come on open up you can
do it you're gonna poop on my hand here
come on
open open you got to be hungry if
needing all night you took a little
liquid last night come on come on ah
come on P P P P I have a cook you were
gonna poop on me come on open open open
sure watch come on
come on
and eat are you just gonna sleep
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don't lose your foods here foods here
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you're silly
silly you are you've taken two pieces of
food so far you need to take more I want
you to gain like three grams while we're
sitting here huh
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you want to try it you're not hungry
enough yet you will I know
when you're hungry enough you'll take
number three here we go quick at number
two yeah hey you gotta get used to that
I'm here to help ya buddy
that was very good
you did a good job on that one so I've
got two crickets one meal worm two
little pieces of wet cat food and they
have a raisin and a big stretch for you
very nice we tried again with this
blueberry let's see if the phones all
right that was a blueberry very good
very good you ate a piece of blueberry
so we have a blueberry in there -
crickets one mealy worm two pieces of
moist cat food and there was something
else how's that taste
oh I know half of a reason you've got
now you're looking for me I want to try
raisin again a little piece of raisin
let's get it geared up here on the
toothpick
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ready here comes oh oh you're starting
to focus on my hand
alright we'll let you rest a little bit
you're doing a big stretch
- a big stretch stretch those wings oh
that's a good one
how about the other one you can do the
left one - how did you do that already
now how about a raisin here comes see it
up there see it come on
oh you're almost going there come on
you're almost going there
almost that time almost again oh don't
be shy have a blueberry you got to stay
open
you have to stay open come on I already
go back to sleep it seems like when I
wake you up out of a sleep is when you
go for it huh
go back to sleep alright you're catching
on now
that was another piece of blue berry
very good how about I pull the head off
another cricket for you you're getting
better
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alright there's another mealy worm
you're catching on now little Billy blue
jay
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it's very good
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that's it come on you see this come on
here's another piece of blueberry you're
getting there you're starting to follow
my hand you're learning that I have food
for you go back to sleep and I wake up
with some blueberry all right there's
another piece of blueberry you're
catching on now little bird that's very
good I'm gonna weigh you see if you're
gaining weight maybe you go outside and
get some exercise see if mommy comes and
finds you
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there you go there you go that's how you
do it
that's how you do it
I want to try a pumpkin seed you haven't
had one of these yet
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you got to get that cricket down first
oh you're full all right watch the feet
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open one open too
open close I feel so weird on my finger
oh well here's what happens when you
have a baby blue jay it's not all fun
and games especially for cricket so I
bought these crickets 11 cents apiece
and this poor little cricket is now
gonna have his legs ripped off thank you
for your sacrifice here a little crooked
for the blue jay one leg and then this
poor little head comes off just by
pinching up with a OH
so Mitch cuts came out I wanted to save
those that's the good stuff and then the
other leg and then it gets impaled on a
toothpick like that and that's the lunch
look at you fluttering up there all
right come on and have this icy tough
guy
look at you looking at it the world come
on come on here look what I got for you
look what I got for you I know I know
you want to go outside we're gonna do
that in a little while first off I want
you to have this I want you to have this
hi sweetie PD hi sweetie PD come on take
it come on come on here it comes
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that's how you do it you just got a
cricket in your belly good bird I'll do
another one
okay Billy bluej hold on TJ I want to
feed this bird
there you go you come over here if you
want want a blueberry come on want a
blueberry come on ah I hope she sees me
here
come on let's get you some some water
now they won't attack you like that
let's get a final spring here we go
Little Miss thing it's getting on my
camera cause it's so hot out here you
get a little moisture spread them wings
out and get some sunshine there you go
pop up here
anyone you want a blueberry what is that
you do with your feet the feet open and
the feet clothes and the fetal been in
the feet closed
you're not hungry okay you relax in the
Sun
come on okay
open open open wood there you go
is that good no
you see the way this baby bird is
flexing the feathers on top of its head
well I read that this is a form of
visual communication for blue jays now
of course this bird has barely any
feathers on the top of its head but if
you've ever seen an adult blue jay you
see that they have a very pronounced
crest of feathers now I'm not quite sure
what they're communicating here it could
be anything from mood to aggression to
contentment like a dog puts its ears
back I'll have to look it up and see if
I can get more specifics but it is
interesting to watch the feathers crest
like that
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what you doing you don't you doing you
that's good exercise for your wings huh
okay so I'm at my gig I'm on my break of
course look who I had to bring with me
two feet on the brake come on sweetie PT
all right road trip in the van
you're a road bird what do you want next
I pick mealy worm let's do a mealy worm
okay so here's what you have to go
through to feed a baby blue jay it's not
all fun and games I have to impale poor
little mealworms that you can buy a pet
smart and then come on baby beeps here
here's a meal worm come on hope you drop
this see what I mean it's not funny
games and I have to put it on the
toothpick because I don't know come on I
have to be impaled on so it's not always
just easy feeding a baby blue jay like
berries and stuff here's a poor little
mealy worm that I bought at Petsmart
like in packs of 50 here in my van and
you have to impale it through the head
to kill it so it's not wiggling around
in the bird stomach and to deliver it
come on sweetie PD here come on come on
come on take that worm come on
open open open come on
open open see it took your time too long
I like slavery impaled with the worm
let's see if you'll take it come on here
here what are you looking at out there
come on here here take your worm that's
it
very good you're doing quite well little
silly what are we gonna give you next
blueberry blueberry next here's a
blueberry here here come on I know you
want to come to me
here here very good very good what's
next I meatball I got meatballs this is
the treat bag I need meatballs last
night with okay you want one don't you
alright I'll describe it later let's
keep feeding the bird he's a little
Billy Blue Jays on a road trip with me
cuz I've defeated every hour so and it's
funny he reacts differently to different
kinds of music so this particular song
for some reason and I've tried it a few
times he sings to it he chirps let's see
if he actually does it now this is a
little uh who's the name of this guy I'm
gonna remember here we go watch the feet
too
Duncan shiek here we go
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Oh
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girls
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just us
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just like
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and I'll start the music
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and he stops
Little Billy Blue Jays a rocker he likes
music in the van strapped in I was
getting ready to take Billy Blue Jay on
another road trip and I put his cage at
my porches I was holding my vehicle all
the sudden I saw this I thought blue jay
all over the cage and I thought maybe if
I'd open the cage door this don't go in
there he'd Billie Lou Jay I got a note
from Phoebe
sure enough open the door and this is
don't run in there was feeding this baby
I couldn't believe it
this gave me another idea I'm gonna put
Billy Blue Jay in the yard as soon as
possible and see if they don't feed him
and take him back after all I had had
him for over a week at this point he
surely was a pledge so the next morning
as soon as I woke I took baby Billy Blue
Jay and put him in my yard I purposely
didn't feed him so that he'd be hungry
and sure enough right away there was
about four adult Blue Jays swooping in
and getting very close to them they
weren't feeding him right away but they
sure were curious
after a while this adult flew down and
boom adults were feeding baby Billy PJ I
was so happy the next challenge was to
see if I can transition this baby bird
back towards the woods near the nest
where I think it fell out of
for the next several hours
adults continually came in and fed this
baby bluej I was able to identify at
least four adult individuals and it
wasn't isolated to just females I was
aware of the fact that both the male and
female mated pairs fed baby blue jays
all the way from hatchlings through
fledgling until they became juveniles
and was finally eating on their own but
what I was seeing here was multiple
adult blue jays feeding this one bird I
also watched all these individual adults
flying in and out of the woods
apparently feeding other baby blue jays
because I could hear the babies calling
for food just like this one is here so
my thought is as all the fledglings must
fledged probably around the same time
all the adults are just flying around
the woods finding babies as they come
upon them and feeding them so it's this
big cycle of grab some food fly in and
feed a baby grab some food fly in and
feed a baby kind of like a group
community effort it was nice to see this
I was getting confident that this bird
was gonna be okay
just had to get it out of my yard and
back towards the woods and keep it away
from that cat
you're trying to fly pretty good
are you going he liked being on the shoe
for some reason
let's see that flight again let's see
you try to fly come here come here mom
and dad are coming to get you tomorrow
so now it's starting to get pretty late
in the day and we thought Blue Jays had
been feeding baby Billy Blue Jay all day
long and I had been feeding through over
a week so I guess I had him printed on
him pretty good because he followed me
around so the plan was to bring him in
the house for the night and then first
thing in the morning get him out twist
the back of my yard and see if I can get
the Blue Jays feeding him and let him
just run back into the woods
oh is this what they dropped off are you
corn who did that's what mom and dad job
touch was corn
Wow
how about that
I have seen the swing spreading behavior
many times different birds both adults
and babies they turn their back to the
Sun spread their wings and are gathering
heat and ultraviolet rays probably even
vitamins and nutrients sometimes they
may be drying their wings if they got
wet or just gather and heat because
they're cold and in this case probably
trying to try out that waxy pinfeather
material that's on the wings here you
can see the bird grooming itself
cleaning and preening and scraping that
wax covering off the pin feathers
revealing fresh flight feathers on the
wings a lot of grooming goes on imagine
having to comb each individual strand of
her hair
these birds spend a lot of time grooming
and believe it or not they give
attention to every feather on their body
even their head they scratch them with
their feet pretty amazing
here is getting into grooming so much
that he actually pulls over a little bit
oops I hope nobody saw that
watching this urge so intently grooming
itself in the wide open like this
oblivious to everything going on around
it makes me realize how vulnerable they
must be the Predators
oops I tipped over again well after all
that grooming I'm hungry
time to take a poop and see if I can get
some food delivered let's see if I can
call in the troops
adult Muji's are incredible flyers
they're fast they're accurate they can
turn on a dime their eyesight is amazing
watch how this bird comes down and lands
right where it needs to be puts its feet
down doesn't even need to take a step
does a 360 falls out of it after feeding
this baby bird and so the midday feeding
frenzy begins
this adult UJ stuff so much regurgitated
food on this baby's throat that the baby
itself has to regurgitate it the looks
that he mostly makes it seen and cracked
horn
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so this feeding frenzy went on all day
long in between feedings little billy
bluej would bask in the sun or groom
himself waiting for another bird to come
and stuff seed down his throat except
for maybe this one who just came to
check
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this feeding right here is pretty
intense as a little bird sticks its
entire phases in the baby's mouth
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it's amazing how fast these baby birds
grow we can literally see them change by
the hour
baby Billy blue jays flight feathers
come in and nicely he was getting
stronger and had a lot of envy from all
those feedings he would go out in the
grass once in a while into flying girls
and jump around and hop he tried to fly
but I let him go until they got into
trouble and they pick him up and bring
him back to my patio where they bill to
feed him for a while again so many
different adults are feeding this baby
bird that every once in a while he would
get too full would have to regurgitate
his food but didn't go to waste though
he would either try to reheat it or an
adult would come in and we eat it and
keep it for itself or just repeat it
back to the baby this entire process is
totally instinct driven this little bird
is throwing up this food and decides to
start pecking on a piece of corn it's
the first time as far as exhibited this
behavior which is quite significant
because the bird who uses behavior later
to crack open nuts and seeds and make
boards and whether our children foods
you
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it was getting late in the day and the
Sun was dropping behind the tree line
casting a shadow in my yard
here the Sun shines through some leaves
and branches and casts a lovely later
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he's such a beautiful little bird and
it's very easy to get attached to him
but I know he's got to be set free and
this would be the last thing I would
spend with him I'd bring him in the
house for the night and in the morning
I'm gonna set him to the back of the
yard to see if the adults will feed him
and lure him into the woods where he can
be a true-blue J Fletcher
so about that cat yeah remember this guy
I've had feral cats breeding behind my
house for quite a few years I've been
able to catch most of them in a have a
heart trap but this big male right here
will not go in the trap
I think he's witnessed too many other
cats getting caught in the trap and he
just won't go near it in this picture
you can see a raccoon and they have a
heart trap and a squirrel in the cat's
mouth this picture was taken by my
infrared motion detection game camera
out behind my house at 2:30 in the
morning
now squirrels are not nocturnal
squirrels sleep in nests 50 feet up in a
tree so this cat had to climb up a tree
and catch this adult squirrel in the
middle of the night while the raccoon is
stuck in the trap this cat is an expert
killing machine last year it pulled down
a doves nest under the awning in my
front porch and ate one of the baby
doves and I wound up rearing the other
dove and releasing it so of course I'm
very concerned about this cat killing
and eating little baby billy blue jay
so the end of the day is drawing near
and most of the birds are moving towards
the woods and looking for their nests
Billy Blue Jays instincts are kicking in
and drawing him to the woods as well the
adult seem to come in and land near him
and not feed him because he's not really
hungry anymore clung to food
with his instincts calling him to the
woods Billy blue Jay makes his best
effort and attempts to fly
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the adults are also luring him to the
woods where you go a little one
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and so the ground game begins I watched
several adults fly to the ground and hop
around here Billy bluej triangle to
London back towards the woods once in a
while they would feed him but mostly
none
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so it was time to scoop him up and bring
him in the house for the night the plan
was to take him out in the morning and
set him on the back fence and hope that
the birds would come and feed him and
lure him into the woods and he would
acclimate I didn't think it was a good
idea to let him go at the end of the day
into the night especially with that cat
lurking around so my idea was to let him
go in the morning I'll set him out on
the fence wait for the adults we'll
start feeding him lure him into the
woods and then he's a free little
fledgling baby bluejay
good luck Billy bluejay
we see him
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all right Billy just
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so really Blue Jays Epsilon the back of
my fans towards my neighbor's yard
and cross through the fence into my
neighbor's yard where we found him in
the first place I thought about pulling
him out and putting them back in the
woods but I had to let it be I had to
let the parents take care of it all so
he might be more protected from the cat
in this yard as this cat really never
goes in this yard but there is a dog
that occasionally is in this yard a
small pug
so I'm gonna keep an eye on him for a
while and then I have some obligations I
have to get to if they believe me jail
will be a free bird
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![The Odd Diet of Blue Jays -Did you Know Birding?(episode 1) [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CssIbA-aWA/mqdefault.jpg)
