We moved in 11/03 to a townhouse near Bothell Landing. The "patio area," in
part, consists of river rock, 1"- 2" in diameter. Not only do the Steller's
Jays eat the sunflower chips in our tube feeder, in order to get seed that
has dropped to the ground, they actually pick the stones up in their bills,
and toss them over the side down to the barked common area. I wouldn't have
believed this if I hadn't seen it myself, having no idea they could throw
these rocks around so casually. (For several weeks I wonderied how these
rocks kept "falling" out of our patio area!) This was more frequent in the
winter when, I guess, the sunflower seeds are more appetizing to them.

Penny Koyama, Bothell
plkoyama at verizon.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mya Bell" <myabell at 4-sightmedia.com>
To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 11:48 AM
Subject: Steller's jays and sunflower seeds