Jay

For the past few days I've been going to Belfairs Woods to take photos and get a bit of exercise. A couple of days ago I mentioned my failure at "stalking" birds. It was a pair of jays in particular as they never seemed to stay still for more than a second and, when they did, they were largely obscured by leaves and branches. Today was much the same. I watched them flit about bringing nesting material to a hidden place in some bamboo. I listened to their very distinctive sounds, often tantalisingly close but usually out of sight. I grabbed one below average shot in 2 hours and was just about to pack up and go home when one flew into a tree it often goes to before moving on to its nest. I got a quick couple of shots with the usual leaves and branches in the way and moved to a slightly better position. The bird didn't fly off. Another few shots and I moved again. I have no idea why but it just sat there in the tree for a while and let me take a few photos.

OK... it's only a jay and the photo still isn't wonderful BUT I've had a great time attempting to get a shot of one of these two birds and have learned loads about them in the process. I'm tempted to say I'll go back and try to get a shot of one of them flying but can't quite see how that would be possible at the mo. Anyway... it's often the small things in life that bring the most pleasure :)