Kitchen Garden Forum

Saw the first waxwing of this winter this morning! It was just one lone bird which landed in our bird cherry, then flew off into the Nature Reserve opposite our house and sat right on top of a birch tree, its crest beautifully silhouetted against the grey sky. There are still quite a few berries about so I hope it (or they) will return.

Hi Monika,
I am told that there is a flock of Waxwings in the neighbourhood at present but sadly I have yet to see one yet this year. Most of the berries here disappeared during the last cold snap so there is nothing to attract then to my plot. The report is that the flock is over 150.
Not disappointed though as two Red Kites flew and circled above me Monday morning.
JB.

Lucky you Monika. Haven't seen a waxwing for year but have fond memories of them because at the house we previously lived, there was a resident waxwing who never migrated and stayed near the garden all year round. He seemed fairly tame and flew down into the garden every morning before I went off to work, waiting to be fed. He was particularly fond of sultanas and when we moved house I was really upset to leave him behind. I wondered if perhaps he had been bred in captivity and escaped because he never seemed very nervous of humans in the way that other birds are. We're also getting red kites circling around us on an almost daily basis now which have migrated out from the Chilterns. We have a lot of squirrels visit our garden and I'm wondering if this is what is attracting their attention although I don't know whether a squirrel might be a little too large for a kite to attack. They're lovely birds to watch and quite easy to recognise with their V shaped tail.

They're beautiful birds, lucky you. I wish i lived back in the countryside to see such views.

If you have a supermarket near you or a trading estate with lots of berried hedges round the car park, you are just as likely to see waxwings in the town as in the countryside! Some years ago there dozens of waxwings feeding on cotoneaster bushes right in the middle of Bradford!