A few days ago I set up a camouflaged hide in a nearby forest. I arranged some logs in front of it and started putting food out each day until the birds accepted it. Today is the first day I’ve taken photos from the hide. Using live meal worms (from www.dragonsdenexotics.co.uk in Newcastle) to attract shy woodland birds, lo and behold this wary but beautiful jay appeared after half an hour. One click of the shutter and that was it: never saw it again!

Jays – more often heard than seen – are very shy birds of the crow family