Jackdaw

Above: Jackdaw
Below: Carrion Crow.

Jackdaws are the smallest member of the crow family living all year round in the UK. They feed mainly on farmland but can be found in almost any habitat all over the UK except for some of the highlands of Scotland. Like other members of this family they are opportunist feeders and will take whatever they can get. They are one of my favourite birds because their antics and behaviour are both interesting and, at times, amusing. They often entertain you with a little aerobatics and are not adverse to a major squabble with their fellow jackdaws.

They are almost entirely black as are many members of this family. However they are distinguished by the lighter grey patch on the back of the head and the nape of the neck. Also the eye is white (in most others crows it is black or at least very dark). These two features are clearly visible in the top left photograph. The rest of the bird is black including the legs and the beak.

The most similar bird is the carrion crow (shown bottom right for comparison). It is quite a bit larger than a jackdaw, is entirely black without the grey patch and it's eyes are also black. It's beak is massive compared to the jackdaws.

Jackdaws are hard to predict. In Dunham Park, Tatton Park and other places near to my home, where they are common, they seem to be quite nervous and fly off when they see you, even when you are some way off. In other places like Llandudno and the Great Orme in North Wales and St Bees in Cumbria, they seem to be as tame as pigeons and are often seen walking around on the ground quite close to people.

Dunham Park is a good place for me to photograph these birds because it's near to my home and there is plenty of cover that can be used to approach them, even if they are a little on the nervous side here. Tatton Park, Lyme Park, Rostherne Mere are other good places to try in Cheshire. In Cumbria, St Bees by the car-park seems to be popular with jackdaws and Llandudno, Pwllheli golf course and most of Anglesey in North Wales should be good places to try. Actually you don't really need me to list sites as these birds should be easy to find.

As with most black birds photography can be a little tricky in some circumstances. You need good light to see the detail in the black feathers and take care if the bird is against a very dark background (or a very light background if it occupies a smallish area in your view finder) as you might need to adjust the cameras exposure a little. If you normally use spot metering (as I do) and you are lucky enough to get a full frame shot of the bird, switch to centre weighted or even evaluative metering otherwise you may end up with a badly over-exposed photo.