Nothing new to report from the park recently.
However I was very happy when Glen phoned this morning. He has been hoping to connect with some of the Waxwings that have been seen not to many miles away. Unfortunately he has not been having any luck, this morning however his luck changed. So when he phoned my first question was “ have you been lucky then.” “Yes, there are around twenty in my garden.” By the time I had driven around to his house near Chalk Farm, the flock had grown to at least 90 birds. The only trouble was the fact that they were quite mobile and appeared to be feeding on buds rather than a good supply of berries that may have held them in one particular spot. Fingers crossed they may find the delicious cotoneaster berries in my garden.
As things are quiet here is a little tester for some of you.
Comments
my 6 year old daughter spotted a lone waxwing in our local park the other day - are they very common at the moment? I have no idea about the raptor, is that the normal coloration of the wings?
Cheers,
Piers
Happy New Year to you.
I have forgotten in what part of the country you now live. This is a bumper winter for Waxwings. They arrived in the UK in large numbers much earlier than normal. They have eaten well up north and had to move south looking for more berries. That is why a lot of reports come from superstore complexes or new housing developments. For ease of maintenance cotoneaster and pyracantha has been planted, ideal for Waxwings. I am guarding my cotoneaster tree hoping that the birds see it and decide to drop in.
The quiz birds are typical plumages for those species. I will give it a few days to see if anyone comes up with both birds before giving out clues or saying yeh or neh.
Sorry this is late but here goes... Piers - there was a largeish flock of Waxwings in Tufnell Park around Corinne Road for a few days last week - there may still be some around. Tony - is it a Lesser Whitethroat? Thanks for the fantastic blog!
Chris
I hope that they weren't to close to Piers' home. That would be really frustrating. The warbler frustrated me when I saw it but it is in my opinion not a Lesser. It was taken on Menorca last August.
I'll look out for the waxwings now, that road's about half a mile from my house. However, my daughter and I sharing our first waxwing in the local park will be one of those memorable wildlife moments up there with any destination birding. I had time to go home, get my camera, and take a photo with my daughter and the bird in the frame, then we went right up to about a metre away from it to get a really good look, it was absolutely tame as anything.
All the best,
Piers
They really are beautiful. It took me over forty years to see my first. My late father wouldn't allow me time of from junior school to see some near his work.
Sorry for the late response, It is a juvenile Sardinian. It fooled me for a bit, due to its very brown tone. None of the juvs I have seen have looked like that, though light can play tricks with how a bird looks.
Cheers
Tony