Waxwing lyrical part 12 - the not so nisus

I didn't get chance to do a proper count but there were over 50 Waxwings feeding in the garden again today. The Estonian ringed bird and colour ringed bird from Aberdeen were both seen several times throughout the day. I did have a net up briefly first thing and ringed another 4 birds and retrapped 5 but the sun soon became a problem so I took the net down.

It was a glorious sunny day and became quite warm in the afternoon and it was great to see the Waxwings doing quite a bit of fly catching at times. However the apples are their mainstay and they must have got through the best part of 6kg of apples today. They were helped, ever so slightly, by a female Blackcap that has been frequenting the garden for the past few weeks and is also partial to apples. The female Fieldfare is still with us and I have set up her own apple feeding area which she defends with vigour and a noisy chacking call.

Now for the not so nisus part. This afternoon the Waxwings all suddenly flushed in dramatic fashion and it sounded like one had hit a window. I looked out to see if one had only to see an adult male Sparrowhawk perched on top of an adult Waxwing in the corner of the garden. One of my sons managed to get some record shots through the window and these showed that this was a different male Sparrowhawk to the one caught and ringed last week. This bird was in full adult plumage and probably in its fourth calendar year at least.

Adult male Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) on a Waxwing kill.

Too much attention by Sparrowhawks could really have a detrimental affect on the Waxwings feeding behaviour as has been experienced elsewhere. Tonight I put some apples in additional trees to give the Waxwings more feeding options and a better chance of spotting any predators when feeding. Only time will tell if this has the desired results.

Waxwing lyrical part 11 - the Pärnu connection

This morning I received an email from the BTO giving the ringing details of the Estonian ringed Waxwing that I caught last week. A big thank you goes to the Estonian Ringing Centre and the BTO for providing the information so quickly and for allowing me to post the details ahead of the usual administrative formalities.

It was ringed in Pärnu in western Estonia on 17th October 2012 and has been confirmed as the first movement to or from Estonia. The first Waxwings started to arrive on the east coast in late October with the majority arriving during November. This bird gives some indication of the speed of movement as it is likely to have reached UK shores with the main arrivals in November.


View Estonian Waxwing in a larger map

The number of Waxwings visiting the garden reached a new high this morning with 65 counted from a photograph. The more I check numbers from photographs the more I realise that I generally underestimate numbers. Here a a few photos taken through the window early this morning while I was having a coffee. A great way to start the day.




Waiting to come down to feed.
There are 65 birds in this photo but some are obscuring others.

The view from best seat in the house.

Buzzing with Waxwings.

Waxwing lyrical part 10 - the big grin

The weather forecast was looking good for ringing again this weekend so another ringing session in the garden was on the cards. John G was planning to join me this morning along with Duncan Bell, a group member who now lives in Fareham, Hampshire. Duncan drove up last night, a journey of 250 miles and of around 4 hours drive time. He had not seen any Waxwings for a couple of years and hadn't seen one in the hand in the 30 odd years he has been ringing so thought is was worth the 500 mile round trip to get the chance of closer look.

We put a net up at 06:30 and then retired to the house and waited for the birds to arrive. I had restocked the trees with apples last night so there were more than 60 apple halves carefully presented. The first group of Waxwings arrived quite early and perched in the trees along the road. More birds arrived and the flock soon built up to 57, the second highest count since they have been feeding in the garden. The birds followed their usual pattern and moved along the tree line before dropping down into the garden.

What would Alan Titchmarsh say?  I don't think my garden will win any awards
 for design but who cares when you can watch Waxwings every day.

The look on Duncan's face was a picture as he sat by the window and watched all 57 Waxwings descend into the garden and start to feast the apples, some were only 15 feet away. They had been feeding for about 10 minutes before the first bird flew into the net but it was soon followed by a second and then a third. The grin on his face increased when another 4 quickly joined them. The feeding birds went up into the trees across the road so we went out and extracted the birds that had just been caught without having to disturb any feeding birds.

We had only just walked to the back of the house when the flock descended into the garden again and settled down to feed. Duncan soon got to grips with characteristics for ageing and sexing Waxwings. White / yellow edges to tips of the primaries, extent of yellow on tip of tail feathers, number and length of the red waxy tips on secondaries / tertials and border definition of throat patch. The grin on his face says it all.



The big grin. Duncan about to ring his first Waxwing.

Total concenration when checking the age and sex.

Another Waxwing another grin. These are marvelous birds and they could have
  travelled well over 3,000km to be here. This is not part of any regular migration.
 This is an irruptive species and I have never had them in my garden before and
 it may never happen again during my lifetime. That is why I don't mind
 trashing the garden and spending more than £5 on apples each day. 

We only had the net open for a short time and closed it at 07:40 after two catches. We paused for breakfast and opened it again briefly at 09:00 to 09:20. By this time we had caught and ringed 21 new Waxwings and 7 new Siskins. That brought the total number of Waxwings caught since 23rd Feb to 46 new birds and 2 controls. Duncan's total for the journey works out at roughly at 1 Waxwing ringed per 24 miles driven for the round trip but he would have happily driven all 500 miles for just one. That just goes to show how enigmatic, scarce and unpredictable these birds are in the UK.



Adult male Waxwing. White/yellow angles to primary tips including
 longest primary, long red waxy tips to  secondaries, extensive yellow
 band to tip of tail , well demarcated black bib.  The tail feathers also
 had red shafts to the yellow tips. 

Both the Estonian and Scottish ringed birds were seen in the garden this morning adding to the data about those individuals. A Sparrowhawk flushed things big style mid morning but around 30 Waxwings returned in the afternoon and fed on and off until about 5pm. Another 5 kg of apples have been put out again tonight in readiness for a similar number of birds tomorrow. Judging by the number of unringed birds seen this afternoon the total number of birds coming to the garden could well exceed the maximum flock of 62 recorded to date but only time will tell.

Waxwing lyrical part 9 - Siidisaba

I took the day off work to try and catch some more Waxwings as up to 62 had been present yesterday. I was up early and was joined by John G as he had an hour or so to spare before going to work. We put up an 18ft net in the garden at first light and waited for the birds to arrive. A flock of 42 arrived at the usual time and sat preening in the trees along the road from the garden as they normally do before coming down to feed.

The Siskins started coming to the feeders and the Waxwings moved along the tree line closer to the garden. The Waxwings were just about to drop down when a male Sparrowhawk darted through the garden and flew into the net. This flushed all the birds including the Waxwings which were lost to view.



3CY male Sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus)

More than half an hour passed before any birds returned to the garden. Siskins were first along with a few tits but there was no sign of any of the Waxwings. Almost an hour passed before a smaller flock of around 20 Waxwings returned by which time the sun was up and starting to shine on the net. The street was also becoming busy with mums and children on the school run but a few birds came across and started to feed.

The rest of this smaller flock soon joined them and some worked their way down the tree to the apples by the net. John really needed to get off to work but it looked like we had a chance to catch a few before the sun became too much of a problem. The foreign ringed bird was one of the lower birds by the net but it would fly parallel to the net to and from its favoured apple. It was time for John to go when the first Waxwing flew into the net and it was quickly followed by another 4. One of these was the colour-ringed bird from Aberdeen.



A good reason to risk being late for work.

John had to go now but at least he had ringed 4 Waxwings this time. The sun was becoming more of a problem but a few clouds drifted across offering some hope of catching a few more. The Waxwings commuted between the apples in the garden and the trees across the road but it was clear they could see the net. The foreign ringed bird frequently made a show of itself by the net and had me on pins for much of the time - no all of the time to be honest.

A Waxwing would occasional get caught but most easily avoided the net. The few bits of cloud had burned off by this time so I decided to furl the net. Just before I went out two Waxwings flew into the garden from the trees across the road and went straight in the net. A quick check with the binoculars and I thought one of them was wearing an aluminium ring.

I went and extracted the birds and one was wearing an aluminium ring. It was the foreign ringed bird and better than expected with the address of Matsalu, Estonia stamped on the ring. I don't believe in fate but the ring number also made me smile as the first two letters were PA which are my initials. I furled the net as planned feeling satisfied and much more relaxed to say the least. Down right chuffed probably sums it up.



Estonian ringed Siidisaba (Bombycilla garrulus)

After processing the birds I checked the BTO online ringing reports to see how many Waxwing movements there had been between the UK and Estonia. To my surprise there had been none in either direction up the end of 2011 or to any of the other Baltic states for that matter. Waxwings are a rare breeding bird in Estonia so it is likely to have been ringed as a migrant last autumn as it was a first winter bird. It will be interesting to see when it was ringed in relation to the main arrivals on the east coast as it will give an indication of the speed of movement.

At least 20 Waxwings continued to feed in the garden for the rest of the day including the Estonian and colour-ringed bird. For some reason they seemed tamer than ever in the afternoon and weren't disturbed by my neighbour when he came out to tidy his front garden. I wondered if the apples ferment a little in their gut and make them more chilled out as the day goes on.



Estonian ringed Waxwing (Siidisaba) back feeding in the garden after being released.

I opened the net again at 15:30 as the net was starting to get shaded by the house and I managed to catch one more before they left for their roost at around 16:10.

Ringing totals with retraps / controls in brackets.
Waxwing 10 (2)
Siskin 2 (4)
Sparrowhawk 1
Total 13 (6)

I was up the ladder with a bag of apples as usual this evening in readiness for tomorrow but I doubt today will be bettered anytime soon.

Waxwings not waning

I woke up a little later than usual this morning and peered out of the window to be greeted by 50 Waxwings sitting in the top of a tree across the road from the garden. There had been at least 22 feeding in the garden yesterday so I had put out around 4kg of apples last night which I had hoped would be more than enough.
 
The birds soon started feeding in the garden but they were very flighty and frequently flushed as the street was quite busy. The colour-ringed bird from Aberdeen was in the fIock along with a few birds which were only wearing a metal ring. These were probably the birds I had ringed on Saturday.

Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) in the feeding tree. Just part of the flock.

I had to go to work but received an email from a friend who had counted 61 mid morning. I phoned home just before lunch to be told that most of the apples had been eaten. I asked that more were put out but feared it was already too late to keep that many birds around.
  
I bought another 8kg of apples and 'borrowed' a few more sprays of cotoneaster berries on my way home this evening. I have spent around 2 hours putting out apples and generally rearranging the garden tonight so there will be plenty of food waiting for the birds in the morning. I just hope they all come back.

Waxwing lyrical part 8 - the catch

I was up early this morning so I could get a net up in the garden just before first light. The weather was perfect with full cloud cover and no wind. I was hoping to catch some Waxwings but knew I was likely to get a good catch of Siskins whether the Waxwings turned up our not. I was joined by John G but he could only stay for an hour or so as he had to go to work.

With the net up we retired to the house for a coffee and waited for the birds to arrive. As the sky brightened the first Siskins started to gather in the tops of the trees across the road from the garden. The Waxwings usually appear about 10 minutes after the first Siskins but 20 minutes came and went and no Waxwings. Around 30 Siskins had gathered by now and had started to come down to the feeders. Birds soon started going into the net and we caught 14 Siskins within the first 20 minutes.

I had almost given up hope of the Waxwings arriving but then heard the distinctive trilling calls of a flock coming our way. There were about 24 in the flock and they landed in the trees opposite and eyed up the apples in the garden. They sat there for over 10 minutes but then flushed for some reason and moved to another tree much further away. Whatever had flushed them had also flushed more Siskins into the net so we went out and quickly extracted them.

A little while later the Waxwings flew across to the tree in the garden and worked there way down to feast on the apples. There was more activity in the street by this time and the birds flushed after only feeding for about 10 minutes. One Waxwing hit the net but bounced out. The Waxwings moved off at this point so it didn't look like I would catch any after all. More Siskins had been caught and we took the opportunity to extract them but John had to go off to work at this point. This catch brought the Siskin total to 19 and it was only 08:30.

I grabbed another coffee while keeping an eye on the net. It wasn't long before a few more birds were caught and this time there was a real garden rarity in the net, not a Waxwing but a Willow Tit. I decided to furl the net at this point and content myself with the good catch of Siskins. Net closed I walked round to the back of the house to ring the birds that I had just extracted only to see the flock of Waxwings coming back. I dashed back to the net and unfurled it with the Waxwings watching me from the trees across the road.

Garden ringing site

The Waxwings came into the garden almost immediately and started feeding. I ringed the 4 Siskins and Willow Tit that I had just caught while trying to keep an eye on the activity in the front garden. It wasn't long before the first Waxwing was in the net and then another two. The Waxwings carried on feeding for the next couple of hours and only moved to the trees across the road when I went round to take birds out of the net. By late morning I had caught 11 Waxwings. Unfortunately I didn't catch the foreign ringed bird but I can't complain.



adult female Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)



First winter male Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Ringing totals for 23/02/13 with retraps in brackets.
Siskin 27 (9)
Waxwing 11
Starling 3
Goldfinch 1
Long-tailed Tit 1
Willow Tit 1
Total 44 (+9 retraps)

Whilst the ringing of 11 Waxwings was a first for the garden so was the single Willow Tit. The total of 36 Siskins caught is also a record catch for the garden and brings the total ringed so far this month to 64 which is more than I have ever ringed in the garden previously. The Fieldfare was in the garden too making it the longest staying individual by far. A record breaking day on many fronts.

Some of the Siskins are putting on a lot of fat to be ready for their spring migration. Weights ranged from a normal winter weight of 11.4g to a hefty 15.3g although they can get heavier than that. Most weighed just over 13g and were carrying moderate fat deposits.

This evening I topped up all the feeders, I also got the ladder out and put fresh apples in the tree in the garden and a few in the trees across the road. Hopefully the Waxwings and Siskins will be tempted to stay with us for some time yet.

Waxwing lyrical part 7

A few days of frustration on the Waxwing front for various reasons not least having to go to work so harder to keep tabs on things. There were 3 in the garden on the 19th and 20th but 11 the next morning (21st) and increasing to 22 in the afternoon.

On getting home from work much time has been spent up a ladder putting up apples and berries in the trees. The cotoneaster berries have been the result of guerrilla pruning and I stopped off on my way home tonight to collect some low hanging fruit as they say in management speak. Apples are a different matter and have cost me a few quid but who cares when Waxwings are a few feet from your window.

This morning I was up early to see how many would arrive but they didn't appear on time. I thought they had moved on but then 17 appeared briefly but soon flushed. A short time later 32 appeared and started to feed in earnest, the best count yet. The colour ringed Waxwing from Aberdeen was amongst them to indicate that the same birds are still hanging around.
 


Sorry for the poor photographs but taken through a window with a point and press.

The biggest frustration by far is that one bird is clearly wearing a foreign ring being pure aluminium and slightly larger than the rings we use in the UK. This bird has a habit of feeding on the apples closest to the window. That would be welcomed, usually, but I sent my telephoto lens off for repair earlier in the week. I now wish I had not sent it as I could have used it in manual and photographed the ring to get the number. It sits so close I can almost read it with binoculars.

Whilst today got off to a good start it was marred by someone who flushed all the birds whilst photographing them from the street mid morning. The intrusion was apparently too much and the birds didn't come back. I am happy to share but some push things too far. I would suggest they get their own chuffing apples and work at it and pay for it like I do.

Tomorrow is a new day and just could be a new story. It won't be for the want of trying as the ladder has been out again tonight along with apples, branches of berries and cable ties.