Day 31 - Jabbering Jays

Hi all today is Day 31 and for today I have some jabbering jays for you. Jays are probably one of the most colourful birds that I have ever seen. I have seen Jays at three places. The first was at my favourite holiday park called Kelling Heath.  This is fantastic caravan/lodge park in the middle of a large forest. There is so much to see there as you would have found out in my Muntjac Post. I've also seen Jays at Strumpshaw Fen, where the picture below was taken, and in a forest on the North York Moors. Anyway here is a picture of a Jay:

Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Now, here are some facts about these lovely birds:

• Although they are the most colourful members of the crow family, jays are actually quite difficult to see as we discovered at the time the photo was taken. 

• They are shy woodland birds which is also something that we discovered even though it let us get quite close to it and stayed around for a while. 

• The high-pitched call usually lets you know a jay is about and it is usually given when a bird is on the move. 

• Watch for a bird flying between the trees with its distinctive flash of white on the rump as this is one of the best ways to identify the bird.

A fantastic Jay fact from a sculpture on a walk way at Kew
 - I may have to do a post on these as they are brilliant

• Jays are famous for their acorn feeding habits and in the autumn you may see them burying acorns for recovering later in the winter which is something I previously thought only squirrels did. 

• The Jay is found across most of the UK, except northern Scotland. It lives in both deciduous and coniferous woodland, parks and mature gardens. 

• It likes oak trees in autumn when there are plenty of acorns because of this, you often seen jays flying across a woodland glade giving its screeching call. It becomes more obvious in autumn when it may fly some distance in search of acorns.

• The Jay is an occasional visitor to many gardens, although some autumns see the arrival in southern England of Jays from the Continent as birds move in search of food. 

• Its plumage is mainly pinky-brown in colour, black and white wings and a black tail. The wings have a bright blue flash and the face has a black moustache-like stripe.

Now here are some links to more information about these beautiful birds:

RSPB - Jays

BTO - Jays

BTO Birdfacts - Jays

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.