Noting the recent postings of jays on the move, we called into Westfield Pill this morning on our way to H'west. We recorded at least 20 jays, including a loose flock of 11 that flew over the Pill in a westerly direction (possibly the same birds seen at nearby Milford Haven?). The recent observed movements of disbursing jays are most likely linked to a shortage of acorn mast this autumn.
As far as we could tell, those we saw at Westfield Pill were probably feeding on sloes. For about 10-15 minutes, a few of them seemed to be involved with a kind of "cat and mouse" chase involving a male Sparrowhawk. If the hawk was trying to catch one it came to nothing.
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| Some jays, probably trying to feed on sloes, were regularly being disturbed by the sparrowhawk |
It was generally fairly quiet, but some other typical birds seen included at least 11 teal, 50-100 mallards, a couple of water rails and c.10 little grebes.