Waxwings 'darn sarf'

[Ruby]

... of England, that is....

I get the impression that the number of reported sightings of Waxwings has only really got doing down in this neck of the woods over the last few weeks.

Problem is that all of the fruit-bearing trees in my garden (Rowan, Elderberry, Yew, Cotoneaster, Hawthorn etc) have all been stripped looooong ago.

So, If we assume that Waxwings are gonna turn up in (say) mid-Feb, anyone got any suggestions for things that might still be around for them to eat!!

Not much chance of them turning up to admire a bare twig!

They like red berries don't they??

[Brian Stone]

Late winter ones around here have latched onto ornamental crab apple trees in gardens. Most of these have a lot of fruit on even now. I know this isn't much help if you don't have one nearby. I think their diet varies quite a bit throughout the year (The Waxwings not the crab apples).

[Michael Frankis]

Some of the hybrid hawthorns (e.g. Crataegus x grignonensis and C. x lavallei) don't ripen their berries until March (they're hybrids with the spring-fruiting Mexican Hawthorn Crataegus stipulacea), so they're always very good late feeding for Waxwings - I've seen them use it a lot on return migration in late March and April

Michael

[pburgers]

Ruby (and others)
Please be careful when picking plantings designed to attract waxwings. We had a rather large die-off last spring of Cedar Waxwings in South Dakota, and after having autopsies on some of the carcasses it was determined that the cause of death was arsenic poisoning, thought to be the result of eating leaves and fruit from ornamental crab apple trees. Some research might be in order before selecting your attractants.

[Ruby]

Ruby (and others)
Please be careful when picking plantings designed to attract waxwings. We had a rather large die-off last spring of Cedar Waxwings in South Dakota, and after having autopsies on some of the carcasses it was determined that the cause of death was arsenic poisoning, thought to be the result of eating leaves and fruit from ornamental crab apple trees. Some research might be in order before selecting your attractants.

Ooo-err. The obvious question, I suppose, is what is arsenic doing in ornamental crab apples??

[pburgers]

Ruby-
I am not a scientist by any stretch, but my understanding is that arsenic is a naturally occuring substance in these fruits and leaves, albeit at very low concentrations. It is only when the birds feed exclusively on them that problems occur. I think I some info on this saved somewhere in this machine, if I can find it I will let you know.
Paul
SD

[pburgers]

Boy do I feel stupid now! The culprit was Cyanide poisoning not arsenic. I guess thats what happens when I rely on my not-so-very good memory. (musta been the 1970's)
Paul
SD

[Ruby]

Don't be tough on yourself there Paul - the Waxwings were equally dead in either case!!

[pburgers]

I found the info I was looking for on this subject, it is in the form of an Email from the SD-birds listserver and I cant figure out how to attach it. It also said that Cotoneaster had cyanide in it. If anyone is interested, let me know and I will either forward the email directly to you or have someone more clever than I help me figure out how to attach it.
Thanks!
Paul
SD

[Surreybirder]

Ray, the waxwing we had next door was feeding on geulder rose. The hawthorns across the road still have plenty of berries on them, too, so perhaps hawthorn is worth a try.
Ken