Tuesday 3 January 2017

Waxwings

This Winter, the UK has and is being lucky enough to be inundated by large flocks of Waxwings that  are heading across the North Sea after a poor crop of berries, their main food source, in the northern forests in places such as Russia and Scandinavia. This year Britain has had a bumper crop of berries therefore it would seem these Starling sized, sandy brown birds are making a wise decision. This Winter has been particularly good for seeing these striking avian creatures;  however they do visit the UK every Winter in varying numbers, so it's always worth keeping an eye on the berry trees every year just in case. 
The main bulk of these Waxwing flocks are to the North of the UK in places such as Aberdeen and Carlisle where flocks of up to 200 - 500 have been recorded. However as the berry crop starts to thin out in these places, the Waxwings are now making their way further south to Northern England and the Midlands with small numbers even further south than this.  I have been waiting (impatiently) for Waxwings to turn up in my county of Cheshire, but of course I couldn't wait that long to see them, so on the last day of 2016 I headed off to North Wales to look for a flock of about 60 birds that had been reported at Wrexham Industrial Estate. 


As soon as I arrived, I immediately locked on to the target flock of birds that were perched above a very vibrant Rowan tree absolutely teeming with berries. The adjacent tree of the same species had been completely stripped already. 



Now it isn't just Waxwings that feed on berries, there are many other species of bird that rely on berries as an important food source such as Redwing, Blackbirds, and Mistle Thrushes, the latter being very territorial as you can hear in this short video taken at Wrexham.

During the first view days of 2017 yet more Waxwings have been reported and this time some turned up in Barnton in Cheshire (just 15 minutes from home). The flock was reported as 20 or so, however on my visit myself and a few other good birding mates counted up to 38 individuals which is quite a large increase in the space of a day. 



Seeing these birds has been a great end to 2016 and start to 2017 and I'm sure I'll be tempted to look for more as the Winter continues. 





So keep an eye out on your berry bushes/trees, you never know what might turn up!

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday

15 comments:

  1. You caught it, beautiful Waxwings.

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  2. Wow, awesome sighting of the Waxwing flock. They are beautiful birds. Great post and photos. HAPPY New Year! Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

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  3. Haqppy New Year Findlay. Good to see your Waxwings and that you caught up with some, unlike me. I'm in no rush yet.

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  4. I love their sound :) I first hear them, then find them. Love to see yours among yellow berries. Here I see them with red ones or eating apples. Gret shots. :)

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  5. Great photos of the Waxwings!
    We have Cedar Waxwings here in the United States, but I rarely see them. Hope you are having a wonderful week!

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  6. What great birds - I saw my first waxwing though the very dirty window of a bus in Gateshead many years ago - wold love to see some now.

    Cheers and (a slightly belated) Happy New Year - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  7. Excellent pictures Findlay.
    A great bird to see; but I'm still waiting at the moment. Not many reported down here yet.

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  8. Great pics and thanks for the heads up on where to find them in Cheshire - I'm not far from Barnton. My first sighting was several years ago in trees in the centre of Sheffield, then last year in Houston, Texas, while visiting family. They're called cedar waxwings in the US and am not sure if they're exactly the same - but your video of a whole crowd of them tweeting in the treetops matched my US experience last year. Great to know they're around locally.

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  9. So pleased to hear you caught up with the Waxwings, Findlay. They are an absolute delight to watch.

    My best wishes to you and the family for a rewardingly bird-filled 2017 - - - Richard

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  10. Great Waxwings. I have been trying to find some in my area but no luck yet.

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  11. I do love Waxwings and enjoy watching them strip bushes of berries. I read a report about Waxwings in America apparently they eat so many berries that they ferment and turn to alcohol inside their bellies getting the birds drunk lol.
    Happy New Year Findlay

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  12. Great photos! Waxwings are so beautiful birds.

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  13. Waxwings are my favorite bird -- so this post with the wonderful pictures feels like a New Year's gift! Thank you. It's wonderful that you have so many this year.

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