Blogs

Our garden was a hive of activity this morning. Along with our usual everyday visitors we had a Jay and Greater Woodpecker visit! I'm so glad that they chose today to visit. They are occasional visitors and it is always a delight to see them. We had a couple of squirrels at the same time and it was...

Hi all, Things have been wild over the last few weeks what with gale force winds, driving rain and snow. With all the damaged and windblown trees making the headlines we faired not too bad. We are taking some comfort in its a better more mild winter than the previous two which is better for our wildlife...

I haven't taken many pics in recent months of the birds that visit my garden, but have started again, and thought I'd post a few. Nothing exciting, I'm afraid. No rare species, but I'm always thrilled to see any birds coming here. They're so wonderful to watch. Sorry the pics aren't...

My friend and I have just returned home from a lovely week spent in North Wales. We love going to Porthmadog, Llanberis, Caernarfon and other nearby places, and went to a few places on Anglesey too. During our travels we managed to take a few photos of some of the various birds we spotted. Some in fields...

I was lucky to see a Jay in my garden recently. What a beauty too Who else has had Jays in their own garden?

Hi Meggsy. If your bird was coming to eat sunflower hearts from a feeder, I'm going to be controversial and suggest it could have been a jay . They are a similar colour to a hoopoe and have a bit of a crest which can be raised when they're excited (maybe by tasty food!). Hoopoes use their...

This Sunday we have the second of our guided bird id walks that follows on from September’s walk in which we looked at bird song and behaviour. This time round we’ll be taking a particular look at winter migrants to Dove S tone. Fieldfares have just started to arrive at Dove Stone....

Apologies once more for the delay between blog posts, the Wood of Cree is a place where a warden can get lost - in his/her work. Autumn is here; with the shortening of daylight hours, changes in colour through the landscape and even more windy/wet weather. I love it. It's my favourite season where...

You can’t fail to have noticed that at this time of year there are nuts and seeds everywhere. The ground is strewn with conkers and the bows of oak trees droop low with the weight of thousands of acorns. Nuts and seeds provide a great food source for all kinds of creatures, but it’s a...

This Sunday sees the next of our guided walks from this season's Autumn walks programme. If you'd like a copy of the full programme then come and find us at the RSPB information point at the top of Dove Stone's main carpark. We also have a guided walks mailing list - please ask us for more...

Just come back from another visit to London. Whenever I'm there I always try to make time to go to St James' Park to feed the birds and squirrels. I just love it there. The birds are unbelievably tame and come to eat from my hands! Here is a lovely great tit doing just that (my friend Sue...

posted some pictures of a jay last weekend, absolutely love jay's so i was made up to get the chance to snap one....... went out today in the pouring rain with a complete open mind & guess what...................

Hi donewalking Yes there have been several recent threads about Jays in the Wildlife forums. Try clicking on the Wildlife Tab, and going into the Where to watch Wildlife forum. You could also type Jay in the search box, or see if there is a Tag for Jay

Frankie I can't handle birds, so there is nothing I can do, except ensure he/she is left to survive or not as the case may be - and ensure my dog does not have any part of that equation. Hi Frankie Welcome to the Community. :-) That's probably the best thing to do. I always believed...

Jay image copyright Liz Cutting, www.lizcuttingphotos.com How many conkers have you collected this autumn? If you’ve got children or grandchildren then I’d guess at least thirty and if you haven’t, there is still something so pleasing about their glossy chestnut gleam that I bet...

Crunchy leaves. Weird toadstools. Wild geese in the skies... are you enjoying autumn? I am! And you won't miss out if you try some of my top 10 ideas for things to do this season... Acorn eaters For most of the year, jays are shy. You might hear a harsh squawk or see a pink bird flying away...

I was visited by this feller (actually not sure if it's a male or female - can anyone tell?!) in my backgarden on 1st September. I've never seen one this close before, only fleeting glimpses, so this was a real pleasure! He seemed quite tame and hung around for about fifteen minutes flying to...

Spotted this near my home

Heres a cute little fella paying a close visit to the Fineshade Hide

One of the Jays who regularly visit my garden helping himself to a monkey nut.

Another first sighting and shot for me.

This Jay Photograph was taken at Harewood House.

Feathers are a marvellous thing. That's what struck me today when I was out walking at The Lodge , in search of our flock of Manx Loghtan sheep (they're the little ones with dead-bracken-coloured wool and up to six horns...). I was busy not seeing the sheep, who were doubtless hiding in amongst...

I managed to photograph a beautiful Jay which landed in my garden. I had seen this bird before but it had never stayed long enough for me to identify it properly.

What a horrible day! Then I looked out the window and saw a magnificent Jay, drinking from a puddle in the courtyard. So rare to see these beautiful but shy birds. A bubble of happiness hit me. Life is worth living if it brings moments like this.

Sometimes, it feels like my neighbours get all the best things on their side of the garden boundary. Sparrowhawks sitting on the fence, preening for hours. A young brown hare taking refuge from pouring rain, under their plastic garden furniture. Green woodpeckers drilling into their turf for ants. Song...