Blue Jay (the peanut bandit)

We enjoy our backyard birds year around, especially in winter when the rest of the plants are dormant.  We’ve recently discovered that blue jays like raw unshelled peanuts – a lot.  When I put them out, the blue jays soon appear. They swoosh in, grab a peanut, and immediately fly out of the yard where I can’t see them.  I don’t know where they go, but I’m guessing they hide the nuts for later. At any rate, they immediately come back for more until all the peanuts are gone. It makes for great entertainment. This image is a close-up of one that came to the feeder next to our dining room window.