Forum Topic

Can you identify this bird?

Hi bird spotters!Saw this bird in my garden and wondered what it is - can you help identify it?ThanksPaul

Paul Key ● 6234d21 Comments

I think its a Jay.Not a bird watcher but happened to have some old cigarette cards close by!G

G Lord ● 6234d

Agreed, definitely looks ilke a Jay.  We occasionally get one visiting our garden so there must be a few living around the area.

David Highton ● 6234d

Definitely a jay, unless some modeller has been respraying crows, to which jays are related.They are quite a few on the top of Castlebar Hill.

Alan Brainsby ● 6234d

Thanks all - thought it might be a jay - also reckon I have seen a woodpecker but no photo yet!

Editor ● 6234d

Three types of woodpecker, green, like that on the cider bottle label.And the lesser , if males, are very smart in their red, white, and black livery.The Great Spotted has a red feathered area around the thighs. They too look very smart in red/white/black.Again there are several aroung Castlebar Hill area.There are bats as well, but I've never been able to identify them.Does anyone have experience of a bat detector?

Alan Brainsby ● 6234d

Does anyone have experience of a bat detector?Yes Alan I've built 3 or 4,if you can solder they're really easy not much to them at all. This one is probably easiest (that doesn't mean it's no good,it is).http://home.netcom.com/~t-rex/BatDetector.htmlThis design can be improved by the addition of a small amplifier on its output,without that it will only drive the old crystal (high impedence earpieces)but with the amp it will drive Walkman headphones and sounds much better.Just depends on your ability to solder to Veroboard really.

Tony Wood ● 6234d

Thanks for the info, Tony.I'll probably build one with a tuner so I can identify the species of bat.Pipistrelle at Angels 0.015 or whatever!

Alan Brainsby ● 6232d

It is definitely a Jay - I see one in our garden from time to time. They are very shy birds, never sit for very long.If you go to Kew gardens, head for the Thames walk and around Rhodedendron dell and you can often see quite a few of them.They are related to crows, so I'd imagine they are quite intelligent too.

Melissa Davies-Wright ● 6228d

The jay is fairly common in the area but so is the wren.a very shy bird that fusses around in our garden bushes. Has anyone seen one lately?

John Perkins ● 6227d

oh my goodness, I am no ornithologist, BUT, I have seen a tiny bird from time to time in my garden over the 8 years I've lived in Ealing and wondered if it was a wren, and then decided it can't possibly be, i.e. not in London. Problem is, you only see them for a few seconds before they hide in the creeper or whatever is near, so you can't double check!Thanks for that, next time I shall know what I'm looking at!

Melissa Smith ● 6227d

I live in Acton, and I had a wren nesting in the roof of my garden shed this July. It was very nervous of me and made a hell of a row whenever I came near, but I managed to get some good pictures of it as it flew back and forth with its beak stuffed full of spiders, grasshoppers etc. Great little bird. I never saw any sign of the babies though. See my pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49428126@N00/sets/72157621753984027/

Vin Miles ● 6223d

Saw a wren only this morning briefly before it dived under the pyracantha.

Barbara Yerolemou ● 6223d

I think it's a Jay.

Daniella Gluck ● 6221d

It is a Jay ( male ), a member of the crow ( corvid ) family.

Derek McNulty ● 6221d

Also have an irregular visit from a wren. It seems they are widely dispersed like the robin but their naturally defensive behaviour makes them hard to spot. Thought Vincent`s photos marvellous even with the wren`s bravado! 

Robert Darke ● 6181d

As many have already indicated, it's a jay. Details from my bird book: "[Eurasian] Jay" (Garrulus glandarius).RSPB link:http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/j/jay/index.aspxWhy not add this to the Flickr group "Wildlife in the London Borough of Ealing":http://www.flickr.com/groups/64571776@N00/

Thomas Bonasera ● 6180d

Thomas, Have you accessed Vincent`s photos or are you  jaywalking?

Robert Darke ● 6180d

For the fist time ever, I saw a jay feeding from the ground in Walpole park last Thursday!

Melissa Davies-Wright ● 6180d

I accessed Vincent's photos, added him as a Flickr contact, and suggested he add his great wren photos to the Flickr group mentioned (where it would also be nice to see that fabulous jay photo). No "jaywalking" for me. I am a big fan of Zebra Crossings (even if the occasional unkind London driver tries to run me down in clear violation of The Highway Code).

Thomas Bonasera ● 6180d

Thomas, thanks for clarifying. (I`ve twice been at risk from cyclists blatantly jumping red lights while crossing - one was fortunate there weren`t any tins in my carrier bag)It is exciting to see the rarer birds but I greatly miss the  sparrows in my local stretch of backgardens when I could regularly count up to a dozen taking water or a bath. I miss their busy chirpy interaction and wonder if this is borough-wide?

Robert Darke ● 6180d

Thanks, Robert and Thomas, for your kind comments. The wren photos involved hours of waiting and a very high ratio of failed shots to good ones.

Vin Miles ● 6178d