I have been watching jays from my studio, as they pick through the veggie patch, so I wanted to capture one on paper. I turned to a favourite technique which is an ink resist to capture their strength and wildness.
Did you know that jays stash acorns for winter food in the same way as squirrels? It is believed that they are responsible for planting most of the oak trees in Britain. Unlike the squirrel, which bits a hole in the end of the acorn before cashing to stop germination, the jay doesn’t. So more of their acorns grow into mighty oaks.
Jays are also skilled mimics and sometimes copy the songs and calls of other birds.
For me, it is the flash of blue and it’s white rump, which I love to see. I get the impression that there are more around now than before, but possibly we are lucky to have a population of many ancient oaks in our part of Berkshire.
Take a moment and remind yourself about the beauty of nature through a quick update about art, events, workshops and news which has caught my eye. You will receive an email once a fortnight and of course you can unsubscribe at anytime. Please enter your details below.