If you phone the bird information services, or have a rare bird pager, or browse the web for news of the latest rarities you will be familiar with the names of the country's birding hot spots such as Cley in Norfolk, Fair Isle or the Scillies. But recently other names have been swamping the bird news services such as Tesco, Mecca Bingo and even Bargain Booze!
This can mean only one thing; Waxwings are here, and this winter birdwatchers and the general public alike are in for a bountiful bonanza of these colourful Scandinavian crowd-pleasers. Being mainly berry eaters they are fond of rowan, hawthorn and cotoneaster berries which are often planted in urban areas, hence their predilection for turning up in some unlikely places.
Waxwings are undoubtedly, one of my favourite birds and I never pass up an opportunity to see them or photograph them so I could be quite busy over the next few months. In keeping with their choice of feeding areas I visited B&Q in Llandudno last week, not to try and improve my woeful DIY skills, but to try and photograph a flock of about forty of these avian beauties that had taken up temporary residence in the area.
My time was limited but I managed some acceptable shots before heading to Conway RSPB.
Today I saw a single bird in the car park of Arrowe Park Hospital in Upton, before heading over to Liverpool where a flock of over one hundred had been reported. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived there were only ten birds present. Never mind, I'm sure plenty more photographic opportunities with Waxwings will present themselves over the coming months.
Keep your eyes peeled on those berry bushes, and if you haven't seen any yet this year, don't worry they will no doubt be coming to a car park near you some time soon!
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This can mean only one thing; Waxwings are here, and this winter birdwatchers and the general public alike are in for a bountiful bonanza of these colourful Scandinavian crowd-pleasers. Being mainly berry eaters they are fond of rowan, hawthorn and cotoneaster berries which are often planted in urban areas, hence their predilection for turning up in some unlikely places.
Waxwings are undoubtedly, one of my favourite birds and I never pass up an opportunity to see them or photograph them so I could be quite busy over the next few months. In keeping with their choice of feeding areas I visited B&Q in Llandudno last week, not to try and improve my woeful DIY skills, but to try and photograph a flock of about forty of these avian beauties that had taken up temporary residence in the area.
My time was limited but I managed some acceptable shots before heading to Conway RSPB.
Today I saw a single bird in the car park of Arrowe Park Hospital in Upton, before heading over to Liverpool where a flock of over one hundred had been reported. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived there were only ten birds present. Never mind, I'm sure plenty more photographic opportunities with Waxwings will present themselves over the coming months.
Keep your eyes peeled on those berry bushes, and if you haven't seen any yet this year, don't worry they will no doubt be coming to a car park near you some time soon!
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| All the above photos were taken in Llandudno, the following four were taken in Liverpool. |
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| Norfolk in October |
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| Leighton Moss |
Amazing photos! I love them!!
ReplyDeleteBEst regards,
Ida (Futurismo)
Glad you like the photos Ida, it's going to be a great winter for this fabulous species.
ReplyDelete