A jay in the garden

I stepped outside the back door after preparing and eating some lunch, to get some fresh air and just look out over the quiet garden and across the valleys. I noticed the presence of a larger than normal bird in the small garden trees next door, where our neighbour has different types of bird feeders. I think it was on a tall bird table, on which it could easily perch, on the other side of the fence.

A magpie then flew down from the roof towards this bird, which was flustered and flew a short distance into this leafless ash tree, at which point I recognised it as a jay. I regularly hear the distinctive vocal antics of a jay when I'm in the garden but seldom get to see them out in the open.

My camera was just inside the doorway, so I quietly slipped inside to get it, turned it on, stepped outside and managed to take two pictures before it flew off and away, back into the shadows of the big trees.