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There
are scattered records of Waxings Bombycilla garrulous in
Cumbria in most years, most frequently from town areas, with large
numbers seen in irruption winters such as 1995-6 and 2004/5.
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In
2004, several flocks of over 1000 had been sighted by early November
in eastern Scotland, making it probably the largest irruption for
over 50 years. Flocks appeared in Cumbria soon after; around 30
were seen in Ulverston and around 200 in a car park in Kendal on
the 14th November.
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These
unusually colourful, starling-like birds have travelled from Scandinavia
and western Siberia to spend the winter here in search of berries.
Their favourite food in their homeland is rowan; if warm conditions
exist when rowans flower, it produces a heavy crop and the survival
rate of waxwings increases through the following winter, so the
waxwing population is high in the next breeding season. Since a
poor berry crop usually follows a heavy one, there are then far
more waxwings searching for fewer berries and they are forced to
move south and west.
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The
Waxwing is an elegant bird, a well-dressed, but not too gaudy, Georgian
gentleman, as the image alongside demonstrates. His sleek and sheeny
plumage has softly blended shades of grey, brown, and russet and
is neatly trimmed with white, yellow, black and a touch of red.
The whole is topped off with a delightful, silky, reddish-brown
crest that flutters in the breeze. The amazing red tips of the secondary
wing feathers, looking like blobs of sealing wax, give the bird
its name. Their purpose is something of a mystery. I am indebted
to Martin Ridley (see www.wildlife-art-paintings.co.uk)
for providing the photograph from which the image was taken.
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It
is sometimes said that Waxwings "feed like a parrot and
fly like a Starling". I watched a flock of 30 settle into
the upper branches of a tall tree near my home. Several birds
would shuttle down to the source of berries in a nearby garden
and when they returned another group followed, and so on. This
typical behaviour is quite different to the chaotic competition
so common in other bird species. Whilst waiting their turn,
the birds in the tree adopted many different postures, often
with wing tips held away from the body. The odd one even flew
up to take an insect, flycatcher style, which is characteristic
of their summer feeding routine. When taking berries they were
surprisingly acrobatic, hanging like a tit, stretching with
elongated body to reach out of the way berries or dropping their
head below the body with tail spread for balance like a small
parrot. The flock keeps in contact with a constant garrulous
chatter - a distinctive but subdued bell-like trill.
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Waxwings
have a voracious appetite, sometimes eating until they can no longer
move, and it takes just a few hours for a small flock to strip several
bushes. Increasingly, Waxwings are being spotted in supermarket
car parks, as many of these are landscaped with berry bearing shrubs,
such as cotoneaster, pyrancantha and rose. Sometimes they stay to
devour all the berries or they may leave quite suddenly and unpredictably.
When the flock moves on, the flight is undulating with frequent
changes of direction (with all the birds in unison, like a flock
of starlings).
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The
Waxwings' social behaviour makes them relatively tame birds and
they can be easily approached until you are standing beneath the
tree in which they are resting.
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