Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Bonus - a Waxwing!

At 2.15 p.m., I was walking down the road near my house, and passed a large cherry tree which has begun to attract a plethora of birds during this cold weather. I stopped to watch the local thrushes and Blackbirds compete with hordes of incoming Redwings for the berries. I started to move on, when I suddenly looked up and saw a Waxwing perched on a branch in front of me. Woohoo! Always a delight to see this beautiful bird, and even better when it's a five-minute walk from home (and only about a hundred yards from where I saw a single Waxwing about a month ago). I took a few pictures with the camera and small lens I had in my bag, before rushing home to get my biggest lens - a 500mm. I had been on my way somewhere else, but it could wait - for a Waxwing. I thus spent the next hour lurking suspiciously in suburban shrubbery, toting an unfeasably large lens, and doing my best to get a few decent shots of this bird as it fed towards the top of two cherry trees (there was a much smaller tree of the same species next to the big one):








Whilst waiting for the Waxwing to come within range, I was able to get a few shots of the very approachable Redwings:




About 3.35 p.m., the Waxwing flew into another roadside tree, where it sat for a couple of minutes, before flying off roughly westwards over the houses. Hopefully, it will be back tomorrow!

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful bird indeed! I remember when I was a kid in elementary school art class, we had to pick out a bird from the supplied bird books and do a drawing of it. I picked out the waxing because I thought it was the coolest looking bird in the book. Thanks for sharing! Good luck tomorrow.

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  2. Now that is some Xmas bonus Jeremy. FAB.

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  3. Thank you Jeremy for such beautiful waxwings!! They are tack sharp, posed perfectly, and the added berries is a Christmas delight! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Linda

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  4. Your bird photographs are awesome!

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  5. Hi Jeremy,
    Thanks for your comment on my blog.
    I have also been putting Niger seed on the teasels for my neighbour Ian Tew while he was away for a few days - and also replenishing his bird feeders.
    I must point him to your images.
    Jim

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