By that I mean Jude the Jay. First one I've seen in the garden since last Spring but I guess it's that time of year. It didn't take him long to find the peanuts.
And then another one turned up with slightly different coloured eyes. I've no idea whether it's a female or not but I'm calling her Jessica. I toyed with naming her Jemima but that's too Beatrix Potter. LOL
I wonder if it's the same pair that visited frequently last winter. I hope they become regulars.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Yet another great visitor to your garden Tony i still live in hope they fly past but never seem to drop in. I might gather up some acorns, there are plenty here as well as you mentioned and put them high on the shed maybe I will get lucky then. I wont use peanuts as the feral pigeons and Starling will finish them as quickly as I put them out.
Regards Shane
My Photos in Flickr.
Ah, thank you for changing her name, TJ (and thank you Stuart for the video, not seen that before). Hurrah for Joyce! I am still fascinated by the difference in eye colour - a while ago I thought I'd got it sussed and that young ones have blue eyes and older ones brown, but have since found out that's not the case. Can find nothing in 'the literature' about it at all.
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Joyce Jay, that is a good choice, lovely looking bird.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Haven't seen much of Jude the Jay in the garden recently and now I know why. He's been collecting acorns and trying to decide where to cache them.
Pity about the lead grey sky. I could have cheated and put in a blue sky. Actually, I have. If you CLICK on each of the above pictures you'll see what a difference it makes.
When I spotted him I put peanuts out and he soon came down for a snack.
It's good to know he's still around so I'm hoping he will become a regular through the winter. I daren't put peanuts out on spec because the Wood Pigeons would devour them before anything else gets a look in.
Fantastic update and gorgeous photos, it was like magic when I clicked on the first two pics and the sky turned blue The Jay really stands out agains the background and looks proud as punch with his acorn - the larder must be getting pretty well stocked by now lol so good to see Jude back again, it's been the same here Tony and Jays have been missing since I saw a couple of juveniles back in July/August but as you say, with the abundance of natural food including acorns they haven't been short of supplies. I often hear them squawking in the area but I also don't put peanuts down on the ground now due to the Cyrils who were increasing in number ! Wintertime is a different matter and I will chuck a few nuts out if we get a cold season. I keep hearing that we are in for a very cold winter - brrggghh !
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Regards, Hazel
Great images TJ, did like the pretend blue sky, definitely showed Jude off to perfection!
Almost as good as seeing Kestrels!
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It was interesting to watch him. He was perched at the top a neighbour's tree with the acorn in his bill and looking around for quite a while before flying off. It was almost as if he was trying to decide in whose garden he was going to bury the acorn
lol Tony, I've seen them dig a whole in the lawn, bury the nut and then place two leaves over the top of the freshly dug hole to cover it - they are typical corvids !! Don't mind the Corvids doing this as they aerate the ground (can hardly call it grass with so much moss, debris and leaves ! ) ..... which reminds me, I better get a wiggle on and rake up some more leaves - 50 mature oaks/beech, I could be there till springtime lol hardly any leaves have shed yet so lots to go. I did try keeping some, shredding some for compost but there are just too many to cope with so Mike takes 10 bags at a time to local garden refuse tip. We do keep one huge pile for the wildlife near the far corner stumpery.