preparing for winter

This morning, after checking on the sparrows at Abbey Gardens, I went for a game of hide and seek with the juvenile woodpigeons in Margravine Cemetery.
Yesterday, on the way back from shopping I counted 10 grazing with a few adults. I had thought that 4 last week or so was a lot, so, 10 at once was rather unbelievable.


Unfortunately, today, they were not in one big easy herd, hiding either among the graves or the trees, but I still found a group of 4 juveniles with 1 adult. No idea why they have done so well this year, but they certainly have... In the middle of all this, I could hear Jays. I saw 3 at once at some point last week in the cemetery after a period of not seeing any. I was taking photos of 1, when, unfortunately, my mobile rang, and the bird flew as I was answering it. I still managed to notice that it was not alone, joining 3 others at least in a tree.  I wonder how long families stay together?

As I was trying to relocate them, I heard a rustle in a holly and saw this squirrel coming out with a branch full of berries and then crossing the path:

One by one, it would pick the berries, check them out:   and then bury them: 
 

Jays

Last Friday (if you recall, otherwise scroll down a little to Friday's post) I noticed that our local Jays had fledged maybe one or two young, and, given how awkward they were at landing/managing the aerials, they probably had just fledged that morning. On Saturday morning, on my way to the shops via Margravine Cemetery, one of them almost flew into me... I really didn't have much time to check as we were off to a wedding shortly thereafter, but they were so out in the open that I could see 4 young without much difficulty.
On Sunday morning I decided to go 'Jay hunting'. I couldn't find them at first but as I go closer to Barons Court I heard an unmistakable horrible sound and there they were. They were very mobile, going from tree to tree, from tree to ground, from ground to tree, but by being slightly ahead of them (sometimes) and sitting down by a tree or grave I managed a fair amount of photos, a selection of which are below. I tried to make the most of it as, even though our local Jays are not too shy, they had still been pretty elusive. I hope you don't get an indigestion...




We are in a graveyard after all...








I think that the following 2 photos are of one of the adults, redder and fuller crown, and somehow the 'blue' feathers don't look as pristine:






One of the youngsters begging one of its parents for food. Unfortunately, I only managed one very blurry photo of one being fed :(








"What am I meant to do with that?" (a leaf)


Thank you for your patience!