Waxwings have been very scarce this winter, unlike the last two or three, when many hundreds arrived from Scandinavia. It seems that this winter the berry crops in Northern Europe have been good and therefore these birds have not errupted on their nomadic wanderings. Thankfully however, in recent weeks small numbers of Waxwings have arrived on our shores and when a small party arrived in Immingham, only an hour and a half drive from home, the twitch was on. It is extremely hard to resist a trip to see these “Pink Punk Rockers”, so on Saturday 7th February we were soon watching a small party of 9 birds, with several superb adults in the flock. With patience, they were very obliging, and during several hours of viewing, I eventually managed to get some decent pictures. A small cafe nearby kept us going with nice tea and Bacon Butties. The only issue was our great British weather, grey and cloudy and not ideal for photography. It made it a challenge..
Whilst watching the Waxwings, we picked up some information off a local birder regarding a good place to see Bittern, so on our way home we called in at this site. The weather had improved dramatically and in late afternoon sunshine and after a few minutes in the hide, two birds flew past giving reasonable views. In the next hour or so, we were treated to some of the best views of Bittern I’ve ever had. We saw three in total, all of which performed rather nicely. A fitting end to a great day and the year list moves on to 128.
Bohemian Waxwing – adult – above five images – Oasis Academy, Immingham, Lincolnshire – Tony Davison©
Bohemian Waxwing – first winter – Oasis Academy, Immingham, Lincolnshire – Tony Davison© – note the less bright colouring on the wing.
Coot – Lincolnshire – Tony Davison©
Bittern – above ten images – Lincolnshire – Tony Davison©
Good stuff.
Smitten with the Bittern. Where was it Tony?