peanut wars

the art of avian innovation

The jays have innovated.

Though the crows are big and threaten the jays, the little blue bastards are as quick to learn as they are to move.

Lately, when I put out the peanuts, the jays wait.

The crows feed first, greedily grabbing three or four peanuts before swooping off to another part of the yard to crack them open and feed.

When the crows leave, a brave jay slides in and grabs a nut. When they do, the act without grace. They move with all of the order of desperate men in a mall on Christmas eve. They collide with things - specifically the peanuts.

The nuts scatter and fall all over the deck.

The crows do not like hopping down from the rail to the deck itself.

The jays exploit this, move in quickly and snatch up the peanuts one at a time.

The crows, frozen with fear can only watch as the breakfast that I tried to deliver to them gets scooped up by a smaller, more maneuverable force.

It goes to show you, if you want to feed, stay small, cause chaos and exploit the fact that you’re more ma…