All Hail Jay

It has been a strange sort of day! Turned out in the end to be quite magical- not photographically but in experience.

Yesterday I had been given the heads up on 3 barn owls fairly near, hunting at about 4:00. I am in marmalade making mode this afternoon but get it all together on a simmer for nearly 2 hours and say to current husband, 'Watch it if you go out, that it isn't going too fast. I'll be back shortly.' On my return the hob had been notched UP!!!! because, 'it didn't look to be going fast enough!' !!! .... Soooo slight disaster with the 3Fruits Marmalade tonight.

After waiting an hour and a half in the cold I did get a Goldcrest, a deer and a barn owl shot but hey! Seeing it soar in even for a brief space of time was wonderful!

I went to the river to look for a kingfisher and all there was, was a wagtail. However up rocked a van, and after eating lunch the 2 guys threw out of the window their sandwich crusts. About to turn round and leave for home I spotted a small jay who had flown onto the fence and with less than a blink of an eye had dropped onto the road and flown off with it. To say I was gutted in that I'd never seen one anywhere vaguely near here before was an understatement!! Next a larger jay drops into the branches and onto the railings - the smudgy car window is up!! Wouldn't you know it? Took a couple of standby shots and dropped the window thinking it would fly off but hey! This is my first jay in this area and am pretty cool with that!