Tuesday, April 12, 2016

J is for, well, Jay.

I like watching birds.  I especially like watching them at campgrounds.  They seem to figure out so quickly that food is for the taking, if they are quick, or if the humans are dumb enough to leave things out for them. (Even if they didn't mean if for said bird.)

I guess that jays are, in general, some what of a thieving bunch, I looked up "Camp Robber Bird", and this came up, proving that several species of bird can be profiled...

So, this couple leave out a loaf of bread in a plastic bag.  Husband and I tell them they should not leave it unattended.  They laugh it off, saying that it's too heavy for the birds to mess with.  Husband snorts, I roll my eyes, and the couple go off on a walk around the campground.

We watch as a rather large crow, and a jay land within seconds.  The jay pecks at the bag.  I start to rise, and Husband, with a mischievous look, says, "Let 'em.  Remember, it's too heavy for the birds to mess with."  The jay had nearly pecked a hole in the plastic, and the crow was watching, and tugging on the tied end of the loaf.

The crow soon tired of tugging, and started flapping his wings furiously, lifting the loaf to a 45 degree angle, and dragging it across the table.  Just as it was about to fall off, the jay dug in and tried to pull out a slice, succeeding in tearing out a crust to take with it.

The couple shows up and realizes that the bread is just about to do a disappearing act, and take panicked action, whereupon the crow drops the loaf, and the crow and jay land in a nearby tree, screaming avian obscenities at the couple.

They pick up the bread, look at the significant hole, rather mangled center slices, and then glare at us.

"Why didn't you STOP them?"

Husband looks innocently at them, and quotes,"It's too heavy for the birds to mess with."

They glare at us for a minute, pull out the "dirty" slices, and throw them in the trash, and go into their motor home, slamming the door.

And we watch as the crow and jay swoop down, grab a slice each, and land on the now vacated table for lunch.  I was quiet about it, but I said, "Good going, guys..."

Husband just chuckled.









5 comments:

Sharon said...

Cute story - all to true, there are lots of campsite thieves. I love/dislike the Jays, they keep the smaller birds from getting their share. JMO

Cperz said...

I love it!!! Sometimes being right just feels so good. Hahahaha

LaShaune said...

I like your hubby because that's exactly what I would have done.

stephen Hayes said...

Birds can be assertive when it comes to collecting food.

messymimi said...

Heeheehee! Yes, the birds will take anything not nailed down, and jays are quite noisy about it if you try to prevent it. So are seagulls, which will divebomb to take food off of your plate if you aren't careful.