Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Dorset Waxwings!

Waxwings tend to arrive in Dorset just as everybody else in the country are getting bored with them. Not sure if 3 birds constitutes an 'arrival' but its the first ones that have hung around.

No directions unfortunately, but the birds were somewhere in Tolpuddle, which is basically a road with houses either side so shouldnt be a problem. After driving slowly through the village until I came across a likely looking berry bush,  I pulled over and wound the window down to be greeting immediately with a rather familiar trilling. It was coming from a nearby tree, just the one bird.


In between trilling it was doing a lot of frantic short flights around the tops of the trees. Not really sure what it was all about but it looked as if it was flycatching. 



It was later joined by 2 other birds which also did the same.

After about 10 minutes of this, one eventually came down to the berry bush where I was lying in wait. 


Really close views but always hiding behind at least one branch.
  





Bird species photographed this year now up to 291.

Confiding Common Buzzard at Holes Bay. This was during survey work so didnt have the usual camera unfortunately.  Had to settle for a rather rushed digiscope shot before it was flushed by an oncoming dog walker.