Jays, Jays, Jays

Yesterday I had a chance encounter that led to me taking some of my favourite wildlife pictures so far, and of one of the shiest birds to boot. I had parked my car up next to some feeders in the WWT Llanelli car park in the hope of photographing some of the visitors, when immediately a Jay turned up and promptly sat on the ground and started to feed on the surrounding peanuts. At first I was mystified as to why it appeared to be so tame as normally Jay’s are such fleeting visitors. It turned out that one of its legs was badly damaged, meaning that it could not stand or grab branches particularly easily. As a result it chose to sit on the ground, although was quick to fly away again when disturbed. Before long another couple of fully mobile Jays appeared, quickly filling their beaks with peanuts before flying off again to no doubt bury their latest haul. The whole experience was amazing and it was great to see these cheeky birds up so close and personal. I hope that you enjoy the pictures as much as I did taking them.