Waxwings again?

This morning I had to go to the west end of Glasgow, which is quite close to the Clyde. Waxwings tend to follow the Clyde, so on my way back I thought I would choose a route that would take me past some possible waxwing sites. Last week they were reported from a street that we passed just half an hour later, so I was optimistic when I saw a flock of birds flying backwards and forwards between the trees ahead of me. Just before I got close enough, they all flew away behind some houses. I managed to find a way through between the houses and found that every tree was crowded with... fieldfares.

I should have been satisfied with that, but of course that wasn't what I had hoped to see. Continuing on my way, about a mile further on, I could see ahead of me some trees where I had seen waxwings about 4 years ago. They were covered in brown leaves...

...but as I drew closer I realised that the waxwings were just sitting very still.

I counted a total of 184 birds. A very satisfactory conclusion to the morning.

Unfortunately the weather was dull and I didn't have my best camera with me, but for pictures of waxwings in our garden in 2001, see our waxwing pages.

For some excellent pictures of waxwings on Fair Isle, see

October 25th 2010. A day we'll always remember

Hey Dad... this is like fishing for birds

Henry and the waxwings - hand-feeding again

Waxwings in my hand - video

Bohemian waxwing feathers

Waxwings

For the last 2 weeks there has been an influx of waxwings into the Clyde area. These beautiful birds are rarely seen in Britain, but occasionally arrive from Scandinavia in large numbers during the winter.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spot a flock of 12+ waxwings as I was driving through Dumbarton, close to the River Clyde.

Waxwings tend to congregate in a medium sized tree and then fly down, a few at a time, to feed on berries from low bushes nearby. At a distance they look a bit like starlings, but are paler and have a shorter beak, so they appear to have a spike out of the back of their heads (crest) whereas starlings have a spike at the front (beak).

The best places to look for them are within a few miles of the Clyde, anywhere from central Glasgow to Arran and beyond. If you see any, please note the date, time, location and number of birds present, and let me know.

The picture above was taken in our garden during a previous irruption. For more pictures of waxwings in our garden, see our website, where you can also see a picture I painted of a waxwing.