Jay (in an English Oak) (Garrulus glandarius)
Words and picture: Matt Sewell
One of the moustachioed Jay’s favourite foods, apart from woodland delicacies such as bugs and brambles, is the mighty acorn. He frantically collects them, hiding them all around his patch. Many are forgotten and eventually germinate and become the forest’s new saplings rather than a hungry crow’s stored lunch.
The english oak is a wondrous tree, held sacred in ancient times and now worshipped by woodland walkers. Its wood has been utilised in everything from man’s earliest tools to his biggest of ships. But disregarding our endeavours, it is for nature that the oak is the highest prize. A constant giver of food and protection throughout every season for every conceivable soul in the forest. Outliving us by many hundreds of years, each oak tree is a world in itself with roots that run deep.