Found this on the 釣り好き老人の日々 blog [ ? Days of Fishing Like Old Men ? Good Fishing Days of an Old Man ?]
It’s a pretty cool looking kebari. Maybe fish would like them too.
Some people believe fish are attracted to blue color.
But probably illegal here. Using Blue Jay feathers may run afoul of the Migratory Bird laws.
カケスの羽の毛ばり Jay Feather Kebari
They are freely available here in UK .
Veniards list them - http://www.veniard.com/search_results.asp?search=Blue%20jay
I note that this company in the USA sell them - http://www.featheremporium.com/Exotic-Feathers/softbills/eurasian-jay.html
Thanks David, seems those feather donators had the hard luck of not being born as Cyanocitta Cristata in N. America. The Blue Jay is on the protected list. I see Blue Jays and S. Eastern Blue Jays often in my yard.
http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/jays.html
They are on the list of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act List - pdf
The Blue Jay often seemed to me to just be a Crow of a different color. Similar attitude. And both are from the Corvidae family of birds. Some crows are also on the list. Though how you could ever tell them apart I haven’t a clue. How to avoid having a legal crow kebari or an illegal one would be a roll of the dice.
However, I don’t know if anyone has ever been prosecuted for having a fly tied with an illegal feather. Very doubtful it would ever be discovered if you did. Just don’t sell them or market the feathers. But, I have read news stories of people being prosecuted for having in their homes a feather from some protected bird. Usually a hawk or eagle occasionally another kind of bird, didn’t matter that they didn’t kill the bird and had only found the feather on the ground. Must be a pile of them on the ground below the wind mills, the federally protected automated bird killers. Law makers have never been accused of having common sense.
Anyway, if Blue Jay feathers can be legally sold I may order some feathers and try tying a few kebari with them.
Might be safer to not use any found in the yard. Stalin’s spy chief once said, show me the man I’ll show you the crime. His attitude has lived on and migrated like the birds to different countries.
釣り好き老人の日々＝Diary of fishing lovers old man
It is the same in Japan
There is also this method
Staining of feathers
Certainly an interesting thing to try. I have seen blog post showing the staining or dying of feathers using ink. And I have some wonderful colors of fountain pen inks. Some are not only water proof, or bleach proof, but also UV. But not sure if any of the blue-like colors are water proof.
I used it when it was clear on the sunny days
kakesu-kebari
Nice but hard to come by unless a cat gets one in your yard
It’s okay
I walk through the mountains and pick up the feathers of the birds
Friends of farm work “Blue Jay”
I am using moulting (feathers)
Blue jay feathers for fly tying are available in the UK. I am not sure of their source but whatever it is it will be well within UK law as there is strict control here concerning wild bird feathers.
I occasionally buy materials from this company, a small family run business and can recommend them - https://www.flytyingcompany.co.uk/fly-tying/feathers-capes-and-hackles/blue-jay-feathers
David
