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Blue Jays
updated: Jun 29, 2012, 3:40 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

There is a large nest of blue jays outside my bedroom window. They're beautiful birds and I enjoy them during the day, but late at night and early in the morning their bird chirps are louder than my iphone alarm. It's starting to become pretty incessant and I don't know if their nest is under attack or what. Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions to get them to quiet down at night?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 292731P	2012-06-29 04:04 PM
Please call SBWCN 805-681-1080 and ask for advice. Are you sure it's not a Mockingbird singing at night? The males do during mating season.
COMMENT 292732	2012-06-29 04:05 PM
Nesting jays are just noisy. They are noisy when they feel their nest is threatened, when they are teaching their fledglings to fly and hunt or just keep in touch with each other as they move along as a family group. The process only lasts through the summer.... meanwhile you can always invest in some earplugs.
COMMENT 292735	2012-06-29 04:13 PM
earplugs...tylenol pm and a big glass of red wine!
COMMENT 292736	2012-06-29 04:13 PM
I second earplugs. Or move to the city. Nature rocks!
COMMENT 292739	2012-06-29 04:19 PM
Smoke some doobie doobie dooooo.
COMMENT 292740	2012-06-29 04:20 PM
a cat?
COMMENT 292743	2012-06-29 04:25 PM
I don't think we have blue jays around here. They are probably scrub jays, but I realize that doesn't help much.
COMMENT 292746	2012-06-29 04:35 PM
Shotgun
COMMENT 292799	2012-06-29 07:42 PM
Get Dario Pini to come over.
SHOREBIRD	2012-06-29 10:41 PM
Get a falcon.
MICRODOC	2012-06-30 06:45 AM
Try talking to them.
COMMENT 292834	2012-06-30 07:09 AM
Young jays are inquisitive and can be trained to come to hand. Try playing lullabies on your iPod. Trytophan before bed and yull sleep sounder. I play a forest sounds cd to help me sleep. Rest well knowing that the bird parents feel the sweetness of your soul, tempting them 2 nest nearby. They will likely be back next spring near the same location. Motion sensor sprinkler if u really want to evict em but make sure the young are fully fledged.
COMMENT 292845	2012-06-30 07:51 AM
Despite their cute antics (they'll eat peanuts from your hand) we try and discourage Scrub Jays from our yard because of their aggressive behavior towards other attractive species. Scrub Jays will eat the eggs and even the young of other birds and are often aggressive in that regard. A pox on them.
SBJULES	2012-06-30 08:03 AM
re: scrub Jays, we have come to the same conclusion as 845.
COMMENT 292850P	2012-06-30 08:06 AM
Sounds like summertime here on the lower east side. Wait until the young'uns have fledged and then remove the nest so the party doesn't reoccur next year.
MTNDRIVER	2012-06-30 08:56 AM
I don't think there's anything you can do without harming the birds. You'll just have to wait it out--try the earplug route! And discourage the parents from nesting in the same area again.
COMMENT 292859	2012-06-30 08:56 AM
Move
COMMENT 292867	2012-06-30 09:26 AM
Invite them inside, prepare dinner and a nicer warmer nest. That is the "Santa Barbara, politically correct way" of dealing with problems.
COMMENT 292872	2012-06-30 09:54 AM
799: HAHA HA HA HA! Hee hee. funny. --- Anyhow, scrub jays are wonderful! They are so smart and tame. You can train them to eat peanuts right out of your hand. I've never ever heard them at night, perhaps you have a mocking bird family on your hands. If so, well, I'm sorry, those guys are loud.
COMMENT 292897	2012-06-30 10:55 AM
@292867 You're right, "politically correct" is just another way of saying decent, kind, civil, and good.
COMMENT 292915	2012-06-30 11:33 AM
The good news, the babies will be big enough to leave the nest soon and you will have your peace and quiet back. The bad news, if the birds had mites, which they sometimes do, the mites in the nest can then find their way into your bedroom when their "hosts" are no longer there and you can become their hosts. It happened to a friend of mine. Be sure to have the nest totally removed as soon as the birds leave. I would have an exterminator handle the job just to be sure there is no infestation.
COMMENT 292958	2012-06-30 01:51 PM
Since getting a cat or a falcon have already been mentioned, I have a different suggestion to offer although I must first plead that you DO get a falcon & if so post pics, please! OK that said, and I KNOW I'm gonna get a lot of BHP on this one (bleeding heart pushback), just spray the nest with a garden hose a few times. The jays will get the hint & relocate, no harm no fou(w)l. Works. Every. Time.
CORKY	2012-06-30 03:36 PM
I don't find the shotgun suggestion helpful or funny.

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