Your Birding Month

We throw the spotlight on the wonderful Waxwing

The gorgeous, Starling-sized Waxwing is a bird which appears in the country every winter, but in incredibly variable numbers. Some years, they can be pretty scarce, while in other winters, we may have thousands or even tens of thousands across the UK. In the breeding season (in Scandinavia, Finland and Russia), they eat a lot of insects, and are adept at catching them in flight. In winter, however, Waxwings are famous fruit eaters. So, in years of a poor berry crop in their northern range, especially after bumper breeding seasons, Waxwings start to travel en masse, in search of fruit. Such mass movements are known as ‘irruptions’ and happen periodically and somewhat cyclically. This winter is showing a certain amount of promise of such a joyous invasion. Waxwings are not just popular because they are scarce; they are also exquisitely beautiful. The crest helps, as it is hard to think of a crested bird which isn’t a bit special. But then there are the subtle body colours juxtaposing with black, yellow, chestnut and those sealing wax wing tips. And the pièce de résistance is their super-soft, ever changing plumage, which makes a constantly-morphing shape-shifter out of any Waxwing. Oh, and even the bell-like ringing call is a delight on the senses. Waxwings love berries. So, the best place to look for them is where there are plenty of fruiting trees. When there are plentiful supplies of berries, they can be quite fussy and flocks will concentrate their attention on the ripest trees (and can appear to ignore what to our less well-tuned eyes look like identical fruit-filled trees). They are not shy birds and will readily come into towns and cities, gardens, parks, streets and car parks to find the best food supplies. That’s why they are often found in supermarket car parks!