Oscar Dewhurst – Waxwing

 

Waxwing

Oscar writes: Last winter there was an invasion of Waxwings all over the UK. I had never seen them before, so when some were reported not far from me I was straight over to see them. When I arrived I was greeted by the sight of up to 80 birds perched on top of the TV aerials. Every half an hour they would descend onto the berry trees for a feeding frenzy, lasting no more than a minute, before going back up to the aerials again.
Nikon D300s, Nikon 600mm f4, tripod
Mark writes: I love Waxwings! Growing up in the West of England I didn’t see my first Waxwing until my 20s.  They seemed a magical bird – beautiful and unpredictable – and that’s still how they seem to me.
Some winters they are with us – and there have been a few recently – and others they are almost completely absent.
And when they do turn up you are more likely to see them in a supermarket car park, an industrial estate, a tube station or a railway station than somewhere pretty and natural-looking.
They remind me, in their flocking unpredictability, of Passenger Pigeons.  At any place you might not see them for many years but when they are present it’s likely to be in impressive flocks.

 

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3 Replies to “Oscar Dewhurst – Waxwing”

  1. I didn’t see my first Waxwing until 1985 when I was in my mid 20s, despite birding on the east coast from 1974 onwards. I remember seeing waxwings on Blue Peter in the early 70s when there was a big invasion and then there seemed to be a real dearth until 1985 onwards. So maybe the West Country wasn’t to blame!

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