To cut a long story short I located at least 64 Waxwings at East Malling Research - there were more, I saw four flocks of birds but I only managed to get a count on three of these. They were very confiding and were feeding voraciously on the apples on the trees. Occasionally they'd fly off, and at one point I watched them until they landed in the trees on the western perimeter of Ditton Court Quarry (a new Quarry tick!). I'll let the photos do the talking (see below)! Also CLICK HERE for a video of some of the birds.
As I left the site at 11:15 I saw a flock of Waxwings (20+) land in Ditton Court Quarry but couldn't relocate them. John Clements pointed out a Siskin flying over. Both John Clements and James Bushnell reported seeing a single male Brambling in the same orchard as the Waxwings.
I also had a Lesser Redpoll feeding with a lone Goldfinch in a Silver Birch tree on the Tonbridge Road, Barming.
NOTE:
East Malling Research is a PRIVATE SITE with access to the public restricted to the use of the public footpath that runs across east-west the site. Under NO circumstances should anyone trespass into the orchards or research land or block the public path or private roadway. The Research Station reopens tomorrow after the Bank Holiday and there may be some disturbance in the orchards due to field operations.
If your visiting and get cold or hungry then check out Bramley's Restaurant next to the Conference Centre which serves hot and cold food and drink until 14:00!
Mixed flock on the wires (looking West towards East Malling Church), including Waxwing, Starling, Fieldfare and Redwing
5 comments:
Adam ,
Now thats what I call Waxwing shots .
Absolutely brilliant .
Shame I can't get down for a couple of days .
Brilliant Adam!
Some of the best shots i've seen. Will have a look soon, hopefully when there's some decent light.
excellent Adam, you certainly filled your boots with photo's :-) I should imagine the flock can only get bigger!!
Hi Adam, some really great photos of these fantastic Waxwings here. They look their best when they are in an orchard eating fruit too. I think we all knew that sooner or later they would descend on your patch. Im just glad Ive been reading your blog for at least 3 months now(not just because of your great local bird knowledge and photos either)but because I had a spare couple of hours this afternoon, and you can guess where I ended up cant you. Cheers for the tip off mate.
Thanks Fellas - nice to have them on patch again and be able to get some half-decent pics at last!
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