Waxwings Bombycilla garrulus in Scarborough

Having planned a quick walk around Scarborough Mere to look for photo opportunities of wintering wildfowl I thought I might as well have a go at seeing the Waxwings reported from just north of Scarborough town centre. Typical wintering Waxwing habitat: busy built-up area, lots of traffic, private houses and, of course, a primary school. Always the same when you are wandering about with binoculars and a camera sporting a telephoto lens! There were plenty of suitable feeding sites along the road but we soon located the flock feeding on the berries on a small Rowan in a private front garden next to the public pathway.

We counted 19 birds but previously there had been up to 35 birds present. Presumably they had split into two feeding flocks and were exploiting two different sources of food.

The weather was miserable: drizzle turning to spitting rain, overcast and lead-grey, altogether pretty poor for decent photographs. Still I managed a few decent-ish photographs.

Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus feeding on Rowan berries. Scarborough November 2019