Joseph N
Lothian Young Birder
Congratulations to everyone that has seen Waxwings today! And James, the Waxwing numbers on invasion years is a definite advantage to living or going to university here!
I have had another very good Waxwing day, far better than yesterday in fact - partly because I was more intent on seeing them and had my bins with me. I went (with my Dad) to a few of the streets/areas in Aberdeen where there have been a lot of Waxwings seen, and was successful in finding large flocks. I went for a wonder up around the Primrosehill area of Aberdeen, only 25 minutes walk away (where c.150 were seen yesterday), to see if I could see any and get photographs of any. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any half way decent photos, as the flocks in this area were very mobile, but some very good totals nonetheless. There were c.110 Waxwings in total here, with the whole flock seen together at one point, which then split into two groups of 44 (I kept an eye on and counted this flock) and 66 respectively (which my Dad kept an eye on and counted) as both groups wheeled round for a while - quite a strategical way of coming up with a total I found. I managed to get very brief but very good views of 18 through the bins as they landed on a rowan tree right above my head and after just a few seconds flew off and not so close but more prolonged views of other birds that decided to land briefly. Presumably these 18 mingled in with the larger flock later on. I got a really poor shot of the 44 (they were really distant once I had my camera at the ready) I tracked when the large flock split into two groups, and on several occasions I missed out on seconds by photographing them. Frustrating in that sense, but its not the last chance I've got of photographing them anyway - what with up to 700 on the outskirts of the city today and a cumulative total in Aberdeenshire of well over 1000!!
On the way back I decided to stop off in another area where big numbers have been seen in the last couple of days, Kittybrewster, about 15 minutes walk away from the Primrosehill area. We were trying to find the school there, where 160 had been seen on Thursday, but wasn't sure where to go. However, we were lucky enough, whilst walking past the Retail Park here, to hear their trilling call, and looked up to see a flock of c.130 Waxwings flying quite low over our heads. This flock stayed in the air and in view for about a minute, splitting slightly from one another then joining up together again although they were quite distant, but constant binocular views whilst they were in flight allowed us to count them effectively. This flock wasn't seen again.
I am pretty damn chuffed with the overall Waxwing total for the day - 110 in the Primerosehill area + 130 over Kittybrewster Retail Park = 240 Waxwings. The climate may be harsh up this way and the weather may be bad, but, I must say, I love Aberdeen for its Waxwing numbers!! :t:
ATB,
Joseph
I have had another very good Waxwing day, far better than yesterday in fact - partly because I was more intent on seeing them and had my bins with me. I went (with my Dad) to a few of the streets/areas in Aberdeen where there have been a lot of Waxwings seen, and was successful in finding large flocks. I went for a wonder up around the Primrosehill area of Aberdeen, only 25 minutes walk away (where c.150 were seen yesterday), to see if I could see any and get photographs of any. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any half way decent photos, as the flocks in this area were very mobile, but some very good totals nonetheless. There were c.110 Waxwings in total here, with the whole flock seen together at one point, which then split into two groups of 44 (I kept an eye on and counted this flock) and 66 respectively (which my Dad kept an eye on and counted) as both groups wheeled round for a while - quite a strategical way of coming up with a total I found. I managed to get very brief but very good views of 18 through the bins as they landed on a rowan tree right above my head and after just a few seconds flew off and not so close but more prolonged views of other birds that decided to land briefly. Presumably these 18 mingled in with the larger flock later on. I got a really poor shot of the 44 (they were really distant once I had my camera at the ready) I tracked when the large flock split into two groups, and on several occasions I missed out on seconds by photographing them. Frustrating in that sense, but its not the last chance I've got of photographing them anyway - what with up to 700 on the outskirts of the city today and a cumulative total in Aberdeenshire of well over 1000!!
On the way back I decided to stop off in another area where big numbers have been seen in the last couple of days, Kittybrewster, about 15 minutes walk away from the Primrosehill area. We were trying to find the school there, where 160 had been seen on Thursday, but wasn't sure where to go. However, we were lucky enough, whilst walking past the Retail Park here, to hear their trilling call, and looked up to see a flock of c.130 Waxwings flying quite low over our heads. This flock stayed in the air and in view for about a minute, splitting slightly from one another then joining up together again although they were quite distant, but constant binocular views whilst they were in flight allowed us to count them effectively. This flock wasn't seen again.
I am pretty damn chuffed with the overall Waxwing total for the day - 110 in the Primerosehill area + 130 over Kittybrewster Retail Park = 240 Waxwings. The climate may be harsh up this way and the weather may be bad, but, I must say, I love Aberdeen for its Waxwing numbers!! :t:
ATB,
Joseph
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