I’ve only twice before recorded waxwing (sidensvans) in March here. They arrive in large numbers in October and November and are usually gone again by the end of January. However, this year small numbers have stayed on. Nice then to be able to film this one in bright sunshine this morning. It had been eating from an apple I’d put out.
Although not as many as before Xmas there are still flocks of waxwings (sidensvans) around, more than normal at this time of year. Usually, most have left by now! Yesterday, they were eating hawthorn (hagtorn) berries, their last choice.
I also grow Viburnum opulus (krossved) near to the house. This is an uncommon wild species around here. The berries aren’t the first choice for waxwings (sidensvans), but keep the birds around later in the year as they start on them as soon as other berries they prefer are gone. These berries are now gone (a flock of 300 birds doesn’t take long).
Here the waxwings join a large flock of bramblings (bjørkefink) and a few other species at the feeding station.
I never weary of watching waxwings (sidensvans). Here are 3 videos from snowy Monday this week when one of the biggest flocks this winter descended on the garden with some 330 birds estimated from the first video below, many of which fed on the last elderberries (second and third videos below)!
NB! The windows are now clean :)
Woke up this morning to a beautiful sight of deep snow on the balcony and mother of pearl clouds (perlemorskyer) in the sky. Added to the garden full of birds all day (still over 200 waxwings / sidensvans), a white-tailed eagle soaring over the bay and herons (gråhegre) flying past, it doesn’t get much better. I even enjoyed the hour shoveling snow!
Apparently there hasn’t been so much snow in Trondheim for 93 years so early in December (much less snow here than higher up though).
However, the forecast tomorrow is +8C and 30mm of rain…with the soil below frozen, this could become quite a mess!
Two days of snow has attracted a large flock of birds to my bird feeder with some 30 bramblings (bjørkefink) and, nice to see, around 25 house sparrows (gråspurv), largely missing in recent years.
Even waxwings (sidensvans) are attracted although they don’t stay for long.
More waxwing (sidensvans) videos from the garden.
1) Eating elderberries
2) Displaying flycatching skills
3) A dazed bird on the ground outside the front door; presumably it collided with the house in a drunken state…it ended well, flying off after the video ends.
A large flock of around 800 Jackdaws (kaie) soared playfully above the bay this afternoon in the cold air (approaching a week of sub-zero C temperatures), probably put up by a hawk…and waxwings in the garden seemed to be being entertained by the performance!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
