Christine's walking & birds blog

In the afternoon I drove over to the medical centre (there are a couple of rowan trees in the car park) and eventually, after much scanning of the thrushes from the car, spotted six waxwings among them.


Just a few of the winter thrushes out the back on this windy, rainy morning.


At one point, it seemed as though the whole sky was full of them as a great straggling flock streamed from the tree-tops and spread out over the gardens, the soft "chacks" of the fieldfare punctuated by the odd thin "seep" of redwings; and probably all trying to feed from rowan trees where human disturbance will be high. Their behaviour this morning though was different from the panicky, swirling flight of yesterday, which suggested the presence of a raptor.

Best of all, in one picture, I picked out two waxwings - just after Greger had reckoned that in such a large flock there could easily be some waxies. It doesn't seem too much of a hardship to stay at home with this avian spectacle practically on our doorstep!