WILDLIFE
several others in the crop, but these birds will also fl y back and forth ceaselessly all day long transporting acorns. On Worrell’s chosen study sites, where oak seedlings planted by jays were appearing at densities up to 400 per hectare, DNA analysis of the tiny oak seedlings proved that in most cases the acorns came from mother trees between 1km and 1.5km away. ‘British foresters and ecologists have long
bemoaned the scarcity of oak regeneration in and adjacent to mature oakwoods; this study demonstrates that a signifi cant proportion of seedling establishment actually happens at sites remote from parent oakwoods,’ says Worrell. ‘If managers also start looking in the wider landscape to identify jay-stashing sites, they could protect oak seedlings in these locations. This would help to initiate important landscape- scale wood land succession processes.’ That the acorn should be so well adapted
for long-distance dispersal is also surprising. We have been conditioned to think that when acorns fall from the tree they are eaten by a host of creatures such as pigeons, pheasants and rodents. Squirrels frequently bury acorns too. Some literature even states that the acorn is not specialised for dispersal by any particular agent, something this new research contradicts. ‘Efforts to incorporate jay-set seedings into
the management of native woodland would help to initiate important landscape-scale woodland succession processes that have been overlooked as a result of our inadequate understanding of acorn dispersal,’ says Worrell. ‘Woodland managers need to familiarise
themselves with local jays to try to determine their stashing sites. Potential stashing sites could be searched for oak seedlings in early June or late September when the seedlings are easiest to locate. Protection could be through deer fencing or by pro tec ting individual seed lings with plastic mesh stapled to a treated stake.’ The jay’s reputation has never been good. During the reign of King George ll the birds were so loathed that an Act of Parliament was passed letting certain autho ri ties pay a bounty of 3d per jay’s head.
Viewed as a
threat to game birds through their stealing of eggs, jays were demonised. Their numbers fell to an all-time low at the end of the 19th century due to intense gamekeeping activities, and were also sought for taxidermy collections, prized by the millinery trade, and kept as caged birds for their mimicry skills and fi ne appearance. Their beautiful feathers are frequently used
Above: Jays have a major role to play in the dispersal of acorns. Right and Below: The bird’s stunning plumage has long made it a target of taxidermists and milliners.
to adorn the rough shooter’s bonnet, as well as being valued for fl y-tying. In fact, the writer and naturalist WH Hudson called the jay the British Bird of Paradise in acknowledge ment of its stunning plumage. In 1880 the Duchess of Edinburgh caused a stir when she wore a spectacular muff made entirely of beauti ful blue and black feathers from jays’ wing bars. ‘Jay’ has been used as an unfl attering term to
signify a loose woman, but the bird’s Latin name, Garrulus glandarius, refers to its noisy calls as well as its love of acorns, while its Gaelic name, Sgreuchag-choille, means ‘screecher of the woods’. The establishment of the Forestry Commis-
sion in 1919 began to provide more suitable jay habitat, but it was not until the second half of the 20th century that numbers began to recover as persecution levels dropped. Since that time, numbers have risen again and this arboreal species has expanded its range and currently appears to be doing better. For foresters and silvaculturists, the fi ndings
of Worrell’s study are exciting. While we shouldn’t need a reason to protect the jay, now that one of our most beautiful and misunder- stood British birds has fi nally proved its useful ness in helping oaks to regenerate, it would seem appropriate to remove it from the quarry list. It is also further proof that nature has a way of re-establishing the balance that we have so upset.
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ABOVE: VETAPI; RIGHT: MENNO SCHAEFER; LEFT: ILONA 5555/SHUTTERSTOCK
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