I have also had Steller's jays sort through my feeder for the peanuts. One
day I watched one as it flew up and landed on the top of my rubber boot.
Curious I checked it out and found....you guessed it, a peanut in my boot.
Ha ha I thought as I dumped it out. A couple days later I had forgotten
about it and went to put on my rubber boots and BOTH had a peanut in them.
I dumped peanuts out of my rubber boots several more times. I have no idea
why this was such an attractive place for a jay, although I am suspicious
it was a practical joke on their part.

In April of 2005 there were several jays coming to our feeder. A coopers
hawk nabbed one and not a single jay was seen again that year anywhere near
the feeder. I wondered at the time if the hawk caught most the jays or the
word went out on the Jay network that it was not a good neighborhood to hang
out in.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer
Snohomish County where a Barred Owl is calling just outside my window this
very minute.