Waxwing? No picture sorry (1 Viewer)

• Black and whie wings with a definite yellow stripe
• What I thought was a reddish cap - but I was looking from below
• Slightly smaller than finch sized

alan_rymer said:

Chris

Sounds like Goldfinch?

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ChrisLuv said:

Can anyone offer advice on Waxwings?

I've just seen a couple of birds that are unknown to me (I haven't been birding long) by the road as I left work. There key features, as far as I could distinguish before they flew off, were:

• Black and whie wings with a definite yellow stripe
• What I thought was a reddish cap - but I was looking from below
• Slightly smaller than finch sized

Could this have been a waxwing (I work in Nottingham, UK) or are there more likely contenders based on the information above? How rare are waxwings, did I do well to see or are they common?

Hi Chris,
Good description you gave here so a quick correct diagniosis. Spot on for goldfinch I would say. Just for your info, waxwings are winter visitors from Scandinavia. They remain close to red berry bushes during their stay in the UK. Every 5 years or so there is a so called irruption where literally 1000's migrate to the UK. Last winter was such a year with them appearing as far west as Wales and Devon. Here in Hertfordshire we had 3 or 4 groups scattered around. Don't know why, apart from food plants being present, but they do appear to have a penchant for Tesco's car parks.
Unmistakable birds, starling size, but you were correct to note the yellow on the wings. Next winter (Jan onwards,) keep an eye open for them and visit local websites for news of their arrival. Altenatively spend Jan - March commuting to Tesco carparks!
Good luck with the birding. I have attached 2 photos of last year's Herts waxwings. Splendid bird.
Jono

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jforgham said:

Good luck with the birding. I have attached 2 photos of last year's Herts waxwings. Splendid bird.
Jono

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