February 12, 2016

The missing jay but little else

text & photos by ABu

Since quite a while I wanted to take pictures of Eurasian Jay of the subspecies Garrulus glandarius brandtii aka Brandt’s Jay (or more precisely, Brandt’s Jay consists of the ssp brandtii, kansuensis and pekingensis which are forming the Siberian "brandtii group"), which inhabits the forests of Mongolia where it is not rare at all (cf. here). As elsewhere, these jays are the guards of the forest and only rarely allow close approach. They do come closer, but do so just to check you out. Usually they keep staying in the shade or remain partly obscured or both and will soon give their alarm calls and then retreat into the forest. It is a different story in some city parks where populations got habituated and even attend feeders. The city parks of UB, though, don’t hold any jays, simply because of the lack of enough mature trees.


Red Squirrel, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Red Squirrel, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Red Squirrel, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Eurasian Treecreeper, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Eurasian Treecreeper, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Eurasian Treecreeper, for finalizing their digestion it lifts its tail
Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

To get a chance I visited on 5 February 2016 the only bird feeders in the UB area I am aware of: The bird tables in the Zaisan Valley. This valley has become very popular for hiking up to the upper reaches of Bogd Khan Mountain to the south of the city and many hikers leave some food on the tables. The valley faces north and is forested so taking pictures isn’t easy at all. Not only because of the shade but also because of the hikers that disturb the birds and hence reducing the chances of photographers to acquire decent shots. Only three jays came to the feeders and there was not much else around either: few Willow Tits, about 6 Eurasian Nuthatches, 9 Eurasian Tree Sparrows, 3 Oriental Crows, 2 Northern Ravens and 3 Rock (Feral) Pigeons. When the birds had been spooked by people I tried my luck on the treecreepers inside the forest.


Eurasian Nuthatch, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Eurasian Nuthatch, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016

Brandt’s Jay, Zaisan Valley, UB, Feb 2016


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