The Lincolnshire Bird Club

The Birds of Lincolnshire and South Humberside Atkin and Lorand dates previous Waxwing invasions into Lincolnshire as follows:
1849-50, autumn 1863, 1866-67, 1892-93, 1913-14, 1932-33, 1936-37, 1946-47, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1961-62, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1970-71 and autumn 1988 -- since then there have been some good winters that I have not had time to look out yet
The above texts then state that the 1965-66 invasion was one of the largest on record with small numbers arriving on the coast in late October followed by more birds in November -- by the second week in November birds were spread over all areas of Lincolnshire. Many flocks were large and between 500 and 1000 birds were estimated in the Louth area; only small parties remained by January and february. The invasions in the 40's and 50's and 1965-66 are well analysed in British Birds, available on line for free if you have time have a good read --

So to 2012- 2013 -- clearly this is the largest arrival in Lincs since 1965-66 and we are in a great position to document it and not only get some good ideas on the numbers involved but to get other information to make so much more of the event while simply watching the birds.

daily number changes will be useful where available of course to plot build up of flocks in favoured areas and onward movements

The Grampian ringing group conduct a survey of bird deaths in invasions and influxes so if anyone sees a bird killed by eg a Sparrowhawk, or flying into a car or window please make a note and put it on this thread with location and if possible a few supporting details in town or on a country lane etc

Any info on ageing in the flocks is useful

What are they feeding on -- a simple question but there are a limited number of berry sources though the first birds were sometimes catching flying insects and I noted one taking a wasp at Barton -- any bits of info like this will make the subsequent report more interesting reading -- where they are drinking is also noteworthy, puddles, gutters etc

Oh and any roosting sites would be useful -- where do they all disappear to at sunset -- I have yet to find a roost!

Remember its your Bird Report and the texts are only as good as the information submitted

Herewith a few basic and perhaps manifest observations but hopefully they will get further contributions and discussions started. Regarding the GPC estimate (10th Dec) of some 35-40% adults (and so 60-65% first winters) for the large c.400 flock of Waxwings at Burton upon Stather, (plus 'clearly a preponderance of first winters in all flocks seen'), it's interesting to note that re the Marston birds, on 22nd November Alan Ball wrote on LBC sightings:

"Apparently over 70 (Waxwings) this afternoon......but I saw 50+ . There seemed to be very few adults amongst them, suggesting they've had a good breeding year."

Thus from the reported adult/first winter ratio flocks noted so far on LBC, it would appear that the birds did indeed have a good breeding year and our analysed flocks showed the ratio of 2 adults to at least 3 first winter. One assumes a fair number of fledged young never made it to the UK as a result of eg. predation and the perils of a long sea-crossing,....... dangers which adult birds would be more likely to avoid or survive.

From my own observations this year and from the 2010/11 irruption, the berry preference is fairly clear. In the countryside there is a limited choice, of course, of Hawthorn berries and Rose Hips, which are both consumed with relish. In built-up areas, the choice would appear to be : Squashy Guelder Rose (Kalinka,Kalinka, Kalinka moya) and Rowans first,with the Sorbus aucuparia cashmiriana and hupehensis varieties, both with their drooping clusters of white or pink-tinged fruits, being especially popular (Tentercroft Street,Lincoln and Abingdon Avenue, Birchwood, Lincoln). Apples are a constant attraction while they last. Once the Rowans have been depleted and finished in an area, the birds switch to Cotoneasters, Dogwood, Holly, Pyracantha berries, Crabapples and occasional Mistletoe but while Rowan berries are still available, other berries in built-up areas are ignored. Only a few days ago in Gainsborough, I watched a small flock of 8 Waxwings fly over and totally ignore a Cotoneaster laden with gleaming red berries to reach a couple of fruiting Rowans almost bereft of berries. I tasted both berries and they seemed to have the same consistency of ripeness. ( some will say that Waxwings swallow berries whole, anyway).

Finally, once the Cotoneaster, etc, berries are all finished (eg.in March/April in 2011), Waxwings resort to the black berries of Ivy (the 70 birds I saw in Norwich in April 2011 were picking the berries off in fluttering flight without landing), the burgeoning buds of deciduous trees, plus leaflets and even flowers, insect gleaning on branches and also return to aerial flycatching which is so noticeable in the early autumn days. Presumably, in the 1965/66 irruption with flocks as large as 500-1000, plus satisfying the needs of thousands of winter thrushes, berries disappeared at an alarming rate with very few berries and very few Waxwings still remaining by February. Will that happen again this winter?

The insular Brits amongst us tend to think of Waxwings as essentially tree-berry scoffers, and yet once the birds return to their dense taiga forests of Scando-Russia to breed they (and the young) will feed on insects and low-growing soft fruits and shrubby berries throughout the summer.

Freddy

14 today at far ings

Another way to make it count is to submit daily lists and counts through Birdtrack. This information is accessible to LBC too but immediately feeds in to the national picture.

Freddy,

You rightly spotlight the importance of the early spring banquet of Ivy berries for the Waxwings. Normally, the more frequent incursions of thrushes and Wood Pigeons are a feature at the late-ripening Ivy berries after the fruits of most other trees and shrubs have been stripped. Regardless of the severity of frosts, the hardy Ivy berries always appear to survive unharmed.

Further evidence of the usefulness of the much-maligned Ivy can also be seen in autumn when the abundant clusters of blooming flowers provide late sustenance to good numbers of insects, particularly bees, wasps, hoverflies, Red Admirals, Small Tortoiseshells and various moths after many other plants have shed their leaves. Many insects also seek refuge amongst the dense glossy leaves and are then exploited by foraging warblers, Goldcrests, Wrens, tits and other species.

At least locally, Ivy berries seem to be in good supply this year in contrast to most other species of shrubs.

Stephen,

Not wanting to go off-thread too much.......but my (slightly trimmed) generous stretch of Ivy in the garden not only supplements the local Woodpigeon diet with its berries but also plays its important role as the foodplant of the second-brood caterpillars of the Holly Blue, the eggs having been laid in midsummer on the Ivy flowers (the Holly being the spring host plant). As a result, every year I get several Holly Blues in the garden......although I look upon them as Ivy Blues rather than Holly Blues.

When the small group of Waxwings visited my garden on several days in December 2010, I didn't see them feeding on the Ivy berries but on my 'Sentinel' Crabapple Tree with its bright red fruits; but no visits so far this December.....dream on!

Freddy