Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!
Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!They only really come to the UK in big numbers when there's a berry shortage in Russia or Scandinavia, or when they've had a good breeding year and there's insufficient food for them
[center][/center] This year is an exception to even the good years it seems, but still hard to find them I read a tweet last night which said some were behind a Church in East Malling, a 30 minute drive away. I thought knowing my luck theyd be gone, but.... 24 of them plus BTO Ringers were there so I got close up shots in the hand plus a Redwing and Goldcrest as well. More pictures on my Diary page here > https://goo.gl/K4c4lf Richard New Member? Get more from the Forum and join in 'Members Chat' - you're very welcome
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!Fantastic pictures Richard, you were very lucky to see them! Magnificent birds And the tiny tiny goldcrest! What an adorable bird.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell Chief servant to Marley the cat Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey. Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!Lovely photos and what a stunning bird.
Often we forget some of our wild birds are a match for many of the exotic ones we only get to see in wildlife programmes. "Not all those who wander are lost"
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !! I saw a little flock of about 20 or so birds at work last week - at first I couldn't see what they were because of the light levels but the way they flitted about looked like little tits until I realised they had much slender bodies and a little crest on the back of the head. I've only just identified them ... they are not common visitors round here so I should try to make an effort to photograph them if I can (they have been eating the apples on a tree on the campus grounds which still has fruit over winter, so hopefully I'll see them again)
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!Not waxwings for me, but a nice handful of other birds past my kitchen window while I washed up. I always get lots of blackbirds - think they like my apples. And sparrows of course. Then a flock of my favourites, long-tailed tits, flitted past, perching in the nearest tree on their way. And the tiny bird that I'd seen at a distance came to the shrubs near the window - not a wren after all, a goldcrest. Plus a thrush.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!Great for you Lassie, you may not get a chance to see them for another few years.
They stunned me !! Mo - Having been to your place I'd imagine you get lots of predators there. Beuatiful countryside. Richard New Member? Get more from the Forum and join in 'Members Chat' - you're very welcome
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!Predators - well there's Pat. And the flying cats that I usually hear high up - buzzards (they sound like cats mewing). One in the garden last week, took off as I came into the kitchen, the washing line was swaying don't know if it had perched on the line or the prop.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!The local newspaper where we lived previously had aphoto of waxwings on the back page, so we kept our eyes open, and just a few doors away from us spotted them on a cotoneaster shrub. OH dashed home for the camera, but the light was too poor to get a photo.
I still have to see a goldcrest, but we regularly get the long tailed tits at the fat balls.
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!Orchards still with rotting apples or any trees / bushes, especially Rowan is where you may find them.
Shopping Centre Car Parks are a favourite because Rowan is fast growing, so there's a lot about. They'll be gone in a few weeks, but it's been a real bumper year for nature watchers. Richard New Member? Get more from the Forum and join in 'Members Chat' - you're very welcome
Re: Waxwings, lucky lucky me !!I don't really see the birds that come for my fallen apples. From the study I can see a row of trees (up a long drive) but the rest are behind the garage. The kitchen looks out the other way. So I see fieldfares flying away - the dark bar on the tail. They are more shy than blackbirds. And if there were waxwings I might not see them.
Did see one in a suburban garden when we lived in Chester nearly 50 years ago. Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire |
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