A Jay today

Well actually I didn't see a Jay today as suggested in the title, but I wanted it to rhyme! I saw it on the day I got the footage of the squirrel. This is a new garden bird to me. In case you didn't know Jays are members of the crow family. They are much more shy and secretive than the more common Magpies and Carrion Crows we normally get in our garden. They are woodland birds really, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it fly into our tall conifer. Our conifers are very tall and the tops are often good perches for passing birds. Just last week a Sparrowhawk was perched there and flocks of Starlings visit too. But never a Jay.

It was a brief visit too. It was there less than a minute so no photos, I'm afraid. It was also a bit too far away for my camera to cope with. I have seen this bird before but I have to say that despite their colour, this bird can be very hard to spot. I was begging for it to fly down onto the bird table so that I could get some close-up pictures but I don't think it was convinced. I only saw it because I happened to be looking out of the window at the time when it came. What luck! Come to think of it, there are probably plenty of birds that pass by unnoticed...

I have seen plenty of other posts from other blogs on them too. If only my dad's binoculars were able to take photos. They are excellent and let in a lot of light, meaning that I saw the Jay in its full colours. They are unmistakable when you see them. The blue streak on their wings is the give-away for me. If you want to see a picture of one on wikipedia, click here. Also on wikipedia it mentions their ability to mimic other birds, which can make it very hard to distinguish its identity.

I thought this post would be a bit dry without any images, so I thought I would share some of my recent Goldfinch photos. Now, you may have noticed that quite a few of my posts are based on these birds. OK, hands up its because these birds are simply some of the easiest and most colourful birds that visit my garden. They are surprisingly tame compared with the Greenfinch and Chaffinch. They also spend more time at the feeders than quite a lot of our other garden birds. Its interesting to look at the behaviour of birds. For example over the years I have noticed that the Blue Tits will often take a seed and fly off into a bush with it to break it up. Unlike the Greenfinches, which are much less likely to give up their spot on the feeders.

Adult Goldfinch


The images below are juvenile Goldfinch ones. This one was actually feeding while I was doing something to my patch, and I was only a few metres away from it. This one even took a quick drink from the bird bath. Its a little disappointing I didn't get better ones but never mind. I am guessing that the young birds are less aware of the dangers in the garden. The adult Goldfinch (also pictured above) was a lot harder to capture.

Juvenile Goldfinch

All photos were taken in my garden on 21/09/08