Waxwing lyrical part 5

OK the titles of recent posts may be getting a little boring and repetitive but the prospect of Waxwings in the garden certainly isn't. The forecast was for a lovely sunny day today which isn't good for ringing in the garden as there is very little shade. Sunshine makes nets stand out and birds can easily see them in these conditions. However, I decided to put a net up for an hour or so from first light to try and catch a few more Siskins before the sunshine became a problem.

Sunshine makes mist nets really stand out.

I was entering a few records on Bird Track while keeping an eye on the net when I suddenly noticed Waxwings dropping into the apple filled tree in front of the window. The laptop was thrown to one side and I grabbed my binoculars. A quick count revealed there were 16 and they included a colour ringed bird and another with just a metal ring. All the birds were actively feeding and it seemed that the best apple was the one another bird was eating as the birds constantly swapped places. This made getting the colour ring combination quite difficult as the birds frequently moved or obscured each other.

I eventually noted the combination and then set about trying to get a few photographs. I didn't dare open a window as the birds were so close. Another problem was the window faces east so all the birds were back lit by the rising sun and there was some glare on the double glazing to contend with. I managed to get a few record shots including the colour ringed bird but I didn't manage to get any photos of the bird with just a metal ring.

Colour-ringed Waxwing metal/red right, red/red /lime green left in the garden today.
It will be interesting to see where this bird had been ringed and if there have been
 any previous sightings since then. Details will be given in a future post.

The birds fed for half an hour before departing; presumably flushed by some activity on the street or in a neighbours garden. I thought they would come back as there were plenty of apples but unfortunately they didn't. At least 16 birds know there is food in the garden now so hopefully they will return on a more regular basis as other food sources are depleted. The supply of apples isn't going to run out in my garden while there are Waxwings around and apples in the shops.

I have emailed Grampian Ringing Group with details of the colour ringed bird as it could be one they have ringed in the Aberdeen area.
 
As for today's ringing the totals were:
Siskin 4
Blackbird 2 (2)
Robin 1
Blue Tit 2
Long-tailed Tit 2 (1)
Totals 11 (3)
(retraps in brackets)

Waxwing lyrical part 4

The much anticipated and hoped for Waxwing flock did not materialise yesterday. Three did not become nine or any other number as none visited the garden and it was well watched all day. To add to my disappointment the auto focus and image stabilisation had packed in on my zoom lens too.

This morning the wind was very light so I decided to put up an 18ft net in the garden to try and catch some of the many Siskins that have been visiting the feeders. There have been around 20 to 30 Siskins coming to the garden for the past couple of weeks which is exceptional compared with recent winters. Some of the Siskins are particularly fond of the fat cakes that I make from a mixture of finely chopped peanuts and dripping.

Siskins (Carduelis spinus)

As I was putting the net up I heard the distinctive call of a Waxwing and a single bird landed in a tree above me. The bird watched me as I finished off putting up the net and then it started to feed on the apples as soon as I went back in the house. It was the same adult female that first visited the garden on Wednesday 13th Feb and is identifiable by some missing feathers on the right side of the neck.



Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Waxwings are a gregarious species in winter so it is interesting that this bird returned alone after a day's absence. It obviously found an alternative food supply yesterday along with the two birds that accompanied it on Thursday so why did it come back alone today? Anyway I am glad that it did and it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days.

Back to the ringing and a good number of Siskins were caught with 12 new birds and 2 retraps. This brings the total ringed to 28 in just over a week.

Siskin (Carduelis spinus)

Garden ringing totals 16/02/13 with retraps in brackets.
Siskin 12 (2)
Goldfinch 3
Long-tailed Tit 3 (1)
Robin 1
Wren 1
Totals 20 (3)

Waxwing lyrical part 3

I got up at around 07:30 to an almost bird free garden. All the snow had been cleared by overnight rain and it wasn't particularly cold. After about half an hour I had almost given up hope of the Waxwing returning, alone or with any mates. Siskins and Goldfinches started to arrive along with the Fieldfare and a few other bits and bobs. Then to my delight a Waxwing appeared and started feeding on one of the many apples. It was the same bird as yesterday having a few feathers missing from the right side of its neck. That was pleasing enough but she had brought some more of her kind and another two were sat higher up in the same tree. Presumably there is a communal roost somewhere and the two new birds followed her to the garden.

 

The two new birds didn't seem as keen on apples at first but they soon got the hang of twisting off pieces and settled down to feed. One of the new birds was an adult and the other a first winter bird. They were flushed by a neighbours cat after half an hour or so, much to my annoyance. That particular cooking fat is a real nuisance in the garden at times.





Spot the Waxwing, yes there is one. This is the scene of all the action. A relatively small front garden by a fairly busy road. The pale patches on the lawn are all the sunflower hearts the Siskins and Goldfinches discard. They are real messy feeders.

The original bird came back on its own after a while so I thought the other two hadn't really taken to apples after all. I needn't have worried though and all 3 birds returned to feed twice during the afternoon. It will be interesting to see how many Waxwings, if any, return in the morning. The wind is forecast to be quite light so I may put a net up if it is still enough. The garden was buzzing with Siskins and Goldfinches again so I could be spoilt for choice.

Waxwing lyrical part 2

The much hoped for Waxwings did not return to the garden on Monday or Tuesday but the garden still held plenty of birds. A mixed flock of at least 50 Siskins and Goldfinches were getting through much of the contents of 5 feeders each day. The Fieldfare continued to hog the apples and keep the Blackbird at bay although it would tolerate them to a degree if they fed on the ground.

I am off work for a few days now but started the morning in a bit of a panic because I thought I had lost my phone when out at a meeting last night. After ringing round and searching high and low I phoned the phone company to get it blocked but shortly after, to my relief and embarrassment, it was found under the couch. Panic over I settled down with a coffee to watch the birds in the garden. It had been snowing for a couple of hours and the garden was alive with birds. The Goldfinches and Siskins were joined by a Brambling, a very rare visitor to the garden. House Sparrows, Chaffinches, Starlings, four species of tit, Robins and Dunnocks etc. Generally what you would call buzzing.

Just a few of the Siskins and a Goldfinch at two of the feeders.

After another coffee I noticed the Fieldfare feeding on apple halves in the tree a few feet from the window. I then glanced up and realised there was Waxwing feeding on an apple just above it. I grabbed the camera and took some record shots through the window. It was quite dull as it was still snowing so the shutter speeds were quite low but one or two of the results weren't too bad.

Record shot of the Fieldfare and Waxwing taken through the double glazing.

Another photo taken through the double glazing. The bird was aged and sexed as an adult female based on the number of red waxy tips and the white edges to all the inner webs of the primary tips

I watched it feeding for a while. The Fieldfare made a brief challenge but the Waxwing held its ground. The two birds then seemed to have the measure of each other and happily fed in fairly close proximity at times. After a while I went upstairs and half lowered the blinds, I then opened the window, slowly and carefully. The Waxwing wasn't bothered by this and continued to feed about 20ft from the open window and my camera. The light remained fairly poor and the snow turned to fine hail, then sleet then rain. I got a bit shutter happy anyway and fired off loads of shots, a few of which are presented below.

adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). The diffuse edge to the bib is another character of females.

The bird stayed feeding in the garden until dusk. Hopefully she will be back tomorrow and will bring a few friends. There are a lot more apples waiting for them if she does.

Waxwing lyrical

OK, a crap title but I was watching Siskins on the feeders out of the window this morning when I suddenly realised there was a flock of Waxwings in the trees across the road. I shouted around the house to let everyone know and ran upstairs with the camera to try and get a shot. Before the camera was out of the bag several flew across the road and into the front garden and eyed up the apples that I put out for the Fieldfare.

I didn't dare open the window to take a photo as I didn't want to disturb them and a couple dropped down for a closer look at the apples. Unfortunately they all flushed before eating as the road in front of the house was quite busy with both traffic and people. A short time later they came back but flushed again before eating. There were 22 in the flock so I put more apples out should they come back again. A flock that size would need more than 4 apple halves and they had clearly seen them so they could come back (he hopes).

I had to call in at a couple of work sites in the afternoon so I decided to look out for some berries or hips on route that I could prune and bring back to supplement the apples. One of the sites I called in at was Pennington Flash. Work done I checked out the Black-headed Gulls by the car park. I only noticed one ringed bird but managed to photograph the full ring number. It was a Lithuanian ringed bird that I had previously photographed on 1st January. Yes a big jump from Waxwings to Black-headed Gulls but that is just how this story goes.

One view of the Lithuanian ring photographed today.

This bird was ringed as a chick near Kalviai, Lithuania in 2008 and was first recorded at Pennington Flash in January 2009 and has probably wintered there or in that general area every year since.


View Black-headed Gull HA06.762 in a larger map

On my way home I called in a supermarket and bought three bags of apples which is very optimistic for me and I also had a passenger foot well full of berries that I had pruned en route. On getting home there was no sign of any Waxwings but I put more apples out and also tied the berries in the trees in the front garden. While I was doing this a Waxwing suddenly appeared in the trees across the road so at least one was hanging about. Hopefully it was a scout and will be back tomorrow. So we have finally got back to Waxwings via a Lithuanian ringed Black-headed Gull and hopefully there will be more Waxwing lyrical to come. At least the Fieldfare, with its shiny new ring, will have more apples to choose from and was already taking advantage this afternoon.

Spinus a yarn

Overnight rain gave way to a dreary damp morning but with no wind or rain to speak of the conditions were ideal for a garden ringing session. I put up one 18ft net and was quickly rewarded with 5 Siskins and a Goldfinch in the first catch. One of the female Siskins had a very slightly crossed bill.

female Siskin (Carduelis spinus) with slightly crossed bill.



adult male Siskin (Carduelis spinus)


Siskins numbers have built up over the last week and around 20 came down to the feeders along with a similar number of Goldfinches. Sunflower hearts are their preferred food at the moment but it is amazing how much they waste. They seem to pick through the sunflower hearts discarding the ones they don't want and only eating part of the others.

Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis).
Male left and female right. The male generally has a longer bill, more extensive and richer coloured red mask and black nasal hairs. The nasal hairs of the female are greyish white but are sometimes stained darker.
 

 A Fieldfare, which has been visiting the garden for almost three weeks now, blundered into the net when I went to extract a Greenfinch. This adult female has been getting through a daily ration of two apples. It has become a family favourite with everyone looking out for her each day.

adult female Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

I packed up after a couple of hours having caught 24 new birds and 1 retrap.

Ringing totals for 09/02/13 with retraps in brackets:
Siskin 16
Goldfinch 5 (1)
Greenfinch 1
Fieldfare 1
Long-tailed Tit 1

Just mooching

I got up this morning to find the Fieldfare was still visiting the garden. It has been coming to feed on apples every day even though the last of the snow melted at the beginning of the week. It has been semi resident for almost two weeks now and has been getting through at least two apples each day. I thought it would have moved on by now and it will be interesting to see how long it stays for.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

A bit of wing and leg stretching

After taking an excessive number of photos of the Fieldfare I went for a mooch on Orrell Water Park. It was very sunny but there was a significant wind chill making it feel quite cold. I had literally just entered the park when I noticed a Collared Dove collecting nesting material. It was collecting fine birch twigs from the same area but its efforts were interrupted by dog walkers. This is the first nest building I have recorded this year.

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

I wandered up to the reserve area where a Kingfisher showed quite well for a while. Not well enough to get photos of the quality I would have liked but much better than I have managed previously. The sunlight was quite harsh and twigs often partially obscured the view or cast a shadow on the bird. The sun being harsh is my excuse for getting the exposure wrong and it doesn't help that I don't shoot in RAW.

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

A helicopter disturbed proceedings on one occasion but at least it was rather colourful whirlybird.