Hi.

Looks like the top just needs to be trimmed back a bit. It could be nutritional. Likely when the Blue Jay starts to break open a peanut or walnut he'll break off the tip himself.

He'd have to adjust how he grabs food until that upper part of the beak is trimmed to the same level as the lower beak. The beak grows slowly so he already has been adjusting.

My thought would be that the Jay will be OK. If he could be caught a 10 second trim will fix him nicely. The problem with capture is the fright and potential risk of injury as he tries to escape.

If he is weak because he isn't eating enough you may be able to "make friends" with him and let him get used to being around. I can let you know how to actually catch one through e mail if you find it necessary. It is a judgement call on your part. Trust what you feel would be best. :-)

Beautiful picture, as always, BTW.

C3D

Awww! What a pretty fella (gal?)! The beak would almost be elegant if it weren't so obtrusive.

Good luck with him, Jean! Updates when you can. :)

Brenda

Thanks, C3D - that is a relief to hear you think he will be okay. I'm not sure it's worth the stress to try to catch him since he seems to be acting fine otherwise. I feed the birds sunflower seed hearts, peanuts in the shell, shelled walnuts, thistle, millet and suet. I usually offer some kind of fruit - blueberries, grapes, apples, etc but the fruit usually gets ignored until the ants find it and then the red-bellied will eat the ants! I know the bluejays will eat bread but I was afraid the salt content would be too high.

I'll keep watching for him. They are territorial at this time of the year so I only get one or two at a time and they aren't camped out at the feeders like they do in the winter so it makes it a little harder to watch for him.

Hi there.

If you think he would need to get caught because he seems weakened by his elongated beak, PLEASE let me know and I'll talk you through how to catch the birdie. :-)

I seriously do not think we will need to do that though. He should be fine!

LOL!! I just put out a bunch of mealworms for the birds in our yard. The first to visit were the Robins and then the Jays. Not any fun to be a mealworm is it?

Hmmmm. The Grackles, Jays, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Orioles, Cedar Waxwings all enjoy the same kind of fruit offerings here as you have. ((Plus the occasional guppy or Betta too.))

interesting! i am rather surprised to see a jay with an overgrown beak. i am especially surprised thinking of the injured fledgling crow i had for a short time. h/her broomstick perch was hammered 1/4" down on the topside.

How do you offer your fruit? I had a pair of orioles this spring so I tried oranges, strawberries, melon, and blueberries. I even tried an oriole feeder - NADA! The waxwings never come to the feeder, they will show up in flocks when the cedar berries are ripe. And looks like a bumper crop of berries this year! And I don't get grackles till fall when the acorns are ripe and then we get flocks of 100's of them - they sure make a racket when they descend on us!

I know others can get the pileated to come to their suet but I've not had any luck attracting the resident pair. And only the female indigo bunting comes to the feeder - probably because the male is too busy singing and flirting all the time while she feeds the babies :^)

SO what is your secret to get these birds to come to the feeder?????

Hey C3D I was trying to email you but I don't seem to have your email address and it's not on your profile. Can you email me?