Meet Jake...he loves to eat all of the peanuts that I put out in our various feeders every morning. And, he does expect me to fill the feeders in the morning, every morning. If I walk outside and there are no peanuts...he lets me know...with his often-heard jeer call...jeer jeer - jeer jeer....loudly to let me know that he is waiting....not very patiently I'd say. O.K. O.K. I'm here and filling the feeders and putting out your peanuts...hold on Jake.
Once I put out the peanuts...I watch Jake (there are probably several Jakes and Janets) fly onto a branch that stretches out over our deck where the feeders are. He lands, looks around and then gracefully swoops down and lands in the flat feeder. He looks through the feed and then carefully selects just the right peanut and takes off. All of this only takes seconds...he is fast. He does this over and over until the peanuts are gone. And then he comes back for sunflower seeds.
I have watched Jake take several peanuts at a time. They have an expandable throat pouch called a gular pouch or crop that lets them hold multiple whole or shelled peanuts simultaneously. And also, one in their beak. A Blue Jay typically carries one peanut in its beak and stashes several more (often 2 - 5) whole peanuts, and sometimes up to (10 - 14 smaller pierces of seeds) inside its throat.
The females are smaller than the males. And the females are primarily the Jay that will voice the Rattle Call. Perhaps you have heard it...it is a rapid series of mechanical clicks - often starting and ending with a sharp click. Produced mostly by females while bobbing up and down to signal territorial defense or warn off intruder jays.
The other calls that Jays make are:
Queedle: a contact call, a soft, musical and clear whistled sound used for peaceful communication between mates or family members traveling together.
Pump-Handle/Squeaky Gate Calls: a rhythmic, squeaky, or gurgling sound accompanied by a pumping or bobbing motion of the bird's body, often used during pair bonding or low-intensity alerts.
Hawk Mimicry: a realistic whistle imitating birds of prey - most commonly Red-Shouldered Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks - used to clear out competition at feeders or warn others of a threat.
The Whisper Song: a quiet, rare and complex mix of clicks, chucks, whirrs, and liquid notes that can last for several minutes during private practice or courtship.
I believe that I have probably heard all of their calls at one time or another. We have very large pine trees and many other trees all around us at our home. The city birds love our trees and are in them frequently.
Before I knew what the specific Blue Jay calls were, I may have thought that they were a different variety of bird or even a squirrel.
We live in a 100-year-old (now older) Victorian house. I have my studio/craft rooms on the second floor. I sit in a big bay window that looks right into the giant pines. So, I not only see the activity of the feeders below but all that goes on up into the trees. I get to see the birds and squirrels doing things other than eating at the feeder and I love it. If I open the windows, I can also hear the less common calls of the birds...like just general conversation with their family and friends and, it is very sweet.
A Blue Jay's head crest changes based on his mood. The crest raises high when the bird is aggressive, excited or defending territory, and flattens down when it is calm or relaxing near family. They frequently bob their bodies or flick their tails up and down to signal excitement, annoyance or curiosity. I get to see it all from my eye in the sky 2nd floor window.
Other facts about Blue Jays are that they are extremely intelligent. They use tools and also plan for the future. They recognize faces...I am the 'peanut lady' I'm sure. And they have been observed using strips or paper or bark to pull food closer.
They are members of the Corvid family making them close relative to Crows, Ravens and Mag Pies.
If I am able to watch Jake long enough and if he doesn't go elsewhere to bury his stash...I watch him fly down to the ground and bury his nuts and acorns which we also put in the flat feeders. (We have a neighbor out at our lake house that has big old Oak trees and for fun (?) and exercise (for sure) he picks up all of the thousands of acorns on his lawn...puts them in a bucket and gives them to us. We also put the acorns out on a property where deer and other critters frequent.
So, this is Jake. He stays in the UP Michigan all year round...he does not migrate. So, we get to enjoy him and others like him and all of their antics all four seasons of the year. 
