How do you get this close to a Jay?
How do you get this close to a Jay? They’re famously reclusive birds, often only seen after they’ve seen you, and showing you a flash of their retreating rump as they disappear into the foliage of distant trees.
Spectacular birds, aren’t they? They’ve got distinctive eyes with concentric rings of feathers around them, and a characteristic moustache, a malar stripe, which is a dense black. It’s the black of their cousins, the Carrion Crows, Rooks and Ravens.
![Jay - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Jay-The-Hall-of-Einar-10-725x483.jpg)
Here it is in a springtime tree. What can I do to get better photographs and see it in proper detail?
![Jay - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Jay-The-Hall-of-Einar-5-725x483.jpg)
As it approaches I can see its striped crest and beautiful dusky pink head.
![Jay - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Jay-The-Hall-of-Einar-12-725x483.jpg)
The answer to getting close to Jays is a combination of having a poor acorn season the previous year, meaning they are hungry and more adventurous, and my very secret ingredient. Can you guess what it is?
![Jay - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Jay-The-Hall-of-Einar-17-725x725.jpg)