I usually drive 6 km down to Cameraon road but i saw a Pine marten here yesterday and decided to stop at the picnic area.
Yesterday, scurrying across the picnic area lawn.
Tess looked up and up there were Mr and Mrs Gray Jay on a wire watching us. I decided to just set up here and save myself 12 km of driving.
All set up and shooting.
Here are the happy couple, picking and choosing. It is very serious business, and requires immense concentration.
One Jay
The other Jay.
I decided to check the leg bands, and discovered these are not the same couple as further down the road. Complain as you might abut the bling, it does let me know that I didn't get to my the other Jays I visit. I wouldn't know them apart without the bling. ( I have to get a new different looking branch. How am I supposed to realize they are different birds if they are photographed on the same branch.?) Birds that have become used to handouts, need those handouts in cold weather, whether other people think it's a nice day to go to the park or not. It's a collective effort undertaken by people who don't even know each other. I can tell if the birds have been fed that day by how quickly they turn up when I get to the park. If I put down some seed and 15 blue jays descend in group and make a little seething herd on top of the feed, they haven't been fed for a while.