As long as I have lived here there have always been Eastern blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) around, but until recently they didn’t visit the feeding station very often. At the end of last fall one started coming around a little more often, but it certainly wasn’t every day. Since then I have begun putting out some fruit, and it seems to be a hit (the squirrels like it, too). The little songbirds have no real use for it, but it has attracted not one, but two blue jays that come by almost daily. I know some birders don’t really like having blue jays around because they sometimes bully the other birds. I don’t mind them, though. I pretty much welcome anyone who wants to show up (although I try not to put out so much that it isn’t all gone by evening since I don’t want to feed rats). So far, the blue jays have been pretty well mannered, and the male red bellied woodpecker ran one of them off the other day. I generally enjoy watching their antics, and they are very pretty to look at and photograph.