Wayward Birds Explained
Wayward Birds Explained
Boo! Hiss! You take that back!
I love my blue jays so much! They’re corvids like crows and ravens, so they are very smart and have tons of personality.
They became my buddies over Covid and I’ve gotten to watch them raise their families. They’ll call each other when they see me outside and sit in me tree and wait for me to bring them snacks. They’ll all approach in different ways, some braver, some more shy. They’ll discipline the young ones. The young ones will play with each other. They make many more calls than the harsh jeer call. They’ll do a little bobbing dance for me or each other when they’re excited.
They’re really great animals once you get over the stereotypes of them, and they are one of the things I miss every day about having to take a new job where I can’t be at home and interact with them throughout the day.
Yes, the starlings are the only ones I have to constantly remind myself that I don’t really hate them. 😂 At the end of winter they really start to destroy my feeder station.
I bought into the blue jays scorn since I grew up being told they were jerks, but it changed one day when I decided to offer one a peanut. I’ve got 7 pretty regular bird buds now.
My cardinals are pretty shy, but this year a mating pair of them learned they can get the peanuts too. I don’t see them near as much, but the lady cardinal is the more aggressive of the 2 when it comes to getting food and she will try to beat the jays too them occasionally and she can hold her own if she really wants that treat!
I don’t know what that is, so that is probably a contributing factor.
They’re from my phone camera zoomed to the max, shot through my patio door and/or nylon screen at a bad angle, and Google’s AI color correction.
They aren’t meant to wow with their technicality, just quick snaps of my outdoor friends. 😉
I’m glad you can enjoy them too!
If you want to see more birds, both my bad pictures, but many more good ones taken but actual photographers, check out [email protected] for my daily posts. Lots of cool photos, and some great bird facts.
I live right at the northern tip of their range. I’d never seen one in person until 2 years ago. Now they’re a common sight in my back yard, and it’s amazing.
I super didn’t expect them to sound like car alarms, though.

It’s especially great that they aren’t migratory birds, so you get to see these fattened little red fluffballs all winter. They really look striking against the snow.
Same with robins, they’re an incredibly common bird, but they are also so handsome.
So the moral of this comic is that you’re always more appreciated when you show up and contribute somewhere people aren’t expecting to find you in.
For example, a certain Academy Award nominated actress, in the comment section of a niche tech forum.
Maybe we can lure one out from the Hollywoods by promising her an Oscar this year.
(And by telling her she has beautiful feathers.)
Am Australian, can confirm. Seeing my first wild cardinal and bluejay were like what seeing an echidna or koala for the rest of the world (except I went to them, rather than them come to me like the comic)… You’ve seen them on TV, now there they are IRL, like meeting a celebrity.
Was very special seeing a squirrel for the first time, and a woodpecker. Growing up in the southern hemisphere isn’t just cool for the unusual animals we have, but for the ‘common’ animals we don’t.