Woke up this mornin', feelin' so bad I thought I was......

[ColinM]

The know the kind of day when you wake up, thinking you maybe got away with it and no one's going to notice the state you're in?



You try to lie low and work off the hangover, but someone still finds you....



You make a desperate attempt to smarten up, but they all walk in on you before you're finished?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The last one cuts a priceless impression. Poor soul. Far too early for his exercises.

[ColinM]

Thanks Bjorn.

The thing is he was one of a brood of at least 3 that were brought by their parents to feed in our garden. The others had impeccable plumage.... Actually this probably reflects that he was the runt and in fact at the bottom of the pecking order because even in this shot you can see the feathers on his head & wings were ragged.

But look at the puffed up plumage of his dad



We only see a single Jay nowadays, so I think the others have moved off.

[Frank Fremerey]

I love the three guys sitting on the pot.

I think we call them "Eichelhäher ... police of the forest"

Their very characteristic noise warns other forest inhabitants
when dangerous creatures like humans enter their terretory.

Frank

[Frank Fremerey]

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichelh%C3%A4her

[Gary]

Good captures and a good story.

[elsa hoffmann]

lovely story and pics - thanks for sharing

[ColinM]

Thanks Frank, Elsa and Gary

I think we call them "Eichelhäher ... police of the forest"

Their very characteristic noise warns other forest inhabitants
when dangerous creatures like humans enter their terretory.

Nice nickname.
I believe they are in the same family as Magpies and both these share a similar harsh "Krawk" cry.

I love the plumage of this bird and couldn't believe it when they came to visit our nut feeder. However they were very jumpy and disappeared at the slightest sign of movement. This meant all the shots I got of them were through glass - no way to open a door or window without spooking them.

D300 300mm F4 AFS handheld. Either ISO 800 or 500 as they turned up early in the morning.

[Mike G]

Colin, what a super series. Jays are indeed members of the crow family but tend to be a bit on the shy side especially when stroppy crows and magpies are around.

I get the occasional visit of a jay, a beautifully coloured bird! I suspect the youngens have not long got their flight feathers, hence the slightly ragged appearance.

[John Geerts]

Nice nickname.
I believe they are in the same family as Magpies and both these share a similar harsh "Krawk" cry.

I love the plumage of this bird and couldn't believe it when they came to visit our nut feeder. However they were very jumpy and disappeared at the slightest sign of movement. This meant all the shots I got of them were through glass - no way to open a door or window without spooking them.

D300 300mm F4 AFS handheld. Either ISO 800 or 500 as they turned up early in the morning.

Nice series, impressively done.

The Garrulus glandarius or the Eurasian jay is actually a shy bird preferably living in dense woods especially oaks hence the German name.

[ColinM]

Thanks Mike and John.

Yes, these guys are shy. However if I was able to creep downstairs in the morning when two parents and three kids were visiting and being taught how to get food out of the nut feeder, it was a real spectacle.