Waxing lyrical - a Waxwing Winter!

Waxwings; a true herald of winter and one of the most superior birds to grace our shores during the colder months. Providing a bright spark of beauty and elegance that is guaranteed to perk up even the most damp and dark mid-winter days, these charismatic favourites have swept across the nation’s berry bushes in a frantic feeding frenzy akin to a swarm of locusts – no berry has been left unscathed and it seems no town has been without their very own wax-tipped winged wonders.

With spectacular eye patterns to rival the make-up of even the most stylish of Geishas, these glamorous punk-haired visitors seem to time their sporadic stopovers to Britain just right, leaving the perfect gap between invasion years in order to truly make an impact when they arrive.

With a Waxwing irruption of impressive proportions taking place this winter, it was only natural that we would eventually stumble across these splendid Scandinavian visitors for ourselves, and along with going to see several known birds, I was lucky enough to find three different flocks myself over the course of the season.

Having been surprised by our first group whilst walking around Brickfields Pond in Rhyl with Alex just after Christmas, I located further individuals elsewhere in Rhyl a couple of weeks later on the Dyserth Road, followed by a surprising and rather late count of over 50 birds in my hometown of Northwich while walking home from work last Monday.

Hearing their distinctive high pitched tinkle-bell trilling, I was amazed to look up and find a vast flock staring back at me, erupting from the playground trees and swirling overhead in a whirlwind of reds and yellows before disappearing over the nearby buildings. Having been desperately watching out of my garden window every winter in the hopes of spotting this most sought after of visitors joining the usual Redwings and Fieldfares avidly devouring the frost coated apples on the lawn, finding my very own local flock was the next best thing.

The sheer abundance of Waxwings over the past few months has inevitably resulted in fantastic photographic opportunities to capture the incredible beauty of these winter visitors, and the flock in Rhyl proved to be particularly photogenic as they flitted through patches of trees in a nearby housing estate.

With spring marching on and the weather getting decidedly warmer, it’s now only a matter of time before our Scandinavian beauties depart for another couple of years, taking with them their charming wind chime-like trills and flashy wing flicks, leaving a nation of deserted, stripped bare berry bushes in their wake.

Autumnal Birding - Short-eared Owls, Scaup, Jack Snipe and Cetti's

With the rustic tones of autumn coming to a close and the cool chill of winter fast approaching, I’ve been able to catch up with a selection of good birds locally as the seasons shift and the birds follow suite.

Short-eared Owls in particular seem to be in great abundance this year, and I managed to see up to 6 different birds at Parkgate/Burton Point during the recent high tides, all taking advantage of the large numbers of voles and other small mammals forced out of the vegetation as the water levels rose. With further individuals at Frodsham Marsh as well as this beautiful bird found hunting along the banks of the River Clywd in Rhyl, the winter of 2015/16 already seems to be a bumper year for these charismatic owls.

There also appears to have been a mini-invasion of Firecrests taking place throughout the North Wales coastline over the past few weeks, with up to 5 spotted at Conwy RSPB near the pond bridge and further individuals scattered across the coastline and up to the Great Orme, particularly around Llys Helig Drive.

The female/immature Scaup at Eirias Park boating lake also provided excellent views when I visited, and having been associating with a group of Mallards for several weeks now, is still present. Whilst occasionally flushed by dogs (such as on one occasion while I was present) the Scaup seems to have taken this small patch of water to its liking, showing fantastically well and being easy to spot on such a small water body. With the lake slowly being drained for the winter however, it will more than likely soon move on, perhaps to the coast or to one of the other pools or lakes nearby.

Burton Mere Wetlands is also playing host to two Jack Snipe at present, most often seen from the first boardwalk screen hidden amongst the stubble of cut reeds. Cryptically camouflaged and usually asleep amongst the Common Snipe with its beak concealed, the distinctive facial markings give the ID away along with the darker and bolder patterns on the back. Luckily, we managed to get great views of one individual doing its characteristic bobbing motion as it moved through the reeds before settling back down and remaining hidden behind the vegetation.

Two Cetti’s Warblers have also taken up residence in the patch of reeds between the reedbed screen and the second hide. Usually remaining hidden deep within the depths of the reeds, with just the distinctive explosive call giving their location away, we were lucky to get amazing views as they became incredibly active late in the afternoon before heading off to roost, showing unbelievably well and performing right in front of the screen out in the open. These were by far my longest ever views of Cetti’s Warblers, having previously only ever got glimpses at various reserves before the bird dashed back in to the safety of the reeds. A pair of Brambling on the feeders were also lovely to see, completing what has been a fantastic few weeks for classic autumnal/winter birds.

Harlequin Duck makes landfall in Aberdeen!

Whilst sat in TGI Fridays tucking in to my birthday meal of Jack Daniels chicken at the start of the month, an alert popped up on my phone announcing that a Harlequin Duck had been seen and photographed at Seaton Park in Aberdeen – one of my personal ‘must see’ birds and an incredible record for Britain! Originally put out as a female but later re-identified correctly as a first winter male, this proved to be a great ‘unblocker’, being the first really twitchable one in my lifetime after the Wick bird of 1991 and the two first summer females in Ayrshire 5 years later. With a handful of birds making it to the remote Hebridean islands in the past 15 years, this mainland bird was extremely welcomed and it was fingers crossed he would stick around until the following weekend.

With several previous birds overwintering there was a good chance it would, and sure enough, after a tiring 6 hour journey up to Aberdeen in less than ideal weather conditions and an overnight stop in a hotel, we arrived at the site and immediately locked on to this arctic wonder as he happily went about his business – a long way from home in the unexpected location of a stretch of river in the local park!

Like its Icelandic counterparts, this Harlequin Duck tended to favour the fast, rough torrents of the rapids, flying from point to point as it continued to dive for food in the depths of the icy flows, plunging down to take advantage of the clear rich pickings in the river below. A pair of displaying Dippers were a nice sight on the rocks, as well as several drake Goldeneye in their beautiful black and white plumage and up to 3 Goosander – again highlighting the rich food source available in this small stretch of river.

Representing just the 19^th record of this stunning duck for the UK, this individual tended to favour both the reeded area of the river to the left of the toilet block as well as the rapids immediately to the right, providing great views as he dived down on the river in front of us for a prolonged period before flying downstream past the development works to the furthest point of the river, where sadly there was no access.

With the nearest population being Iceland, where over 5,000 pairs breed each year, it is highly likely that, due to the fierce Northerly gales experienced lately and the bird’s location on the East coast in Aberdeen, the most likely source of origin for this Arctic dweller will be from these rocky coastlines – displaced after the fierce storms that battered the North Sea. The Harlequin Duck’s range also expands further afield, with birds found in Greenland, Eastern Russia and NW and NE America, and birds sometimes wintering further south in California and North Carolina.

Distinctive in their breeding plumage with their fantastic showy orange and slate-grey colouration, this first winter male sadly looked more like a female, with an overall appearance of dark chocolatey-brown feathers. However, the distinctive round white spot behind the ear was clearly visible, as was the white patch in front of the eye and clear cut white line on the breast. Obviously not yet in his full breeding finery, it would be great if this male sticks around to develop his full breeding plumage – where a second visit to tie in with our planned Scottish Highland trip at Easter may well be on the cards!

Drake Smew at Draycote

Having never seen a Drake Smew before and actually dipping on an individual in the midlands on our way to Norfolk (which frustratingly was actually reported after we’d left!) I was keen to try for the drake that had been hanging around at Draycote water.

Arriving at the site and with rain threatening, we hurried to the bank where it had last been reported, stopping to admire a female Common Scoter that was also present. Turning the bend, the shining white drake was apparent even at a distance, and we approached where it was stationed on the water, relatively close by to the bank and providing some great photo opportunities.

This was my first drake, having seen 3 females, and was a much sought after bird for me. This individual was also particularly obliging, not tending to dive down too much as Smews usually do, and he seemed content to sit on the water and show off his spectacular white and black plumage!

The Golden Pheasants at Wolferton Triangle (he was there!)

Before Christmas I managed to persuade Alex to drive us both down to Norfolk so I could catch up with a much anticipated bird – the Golden Pheasant!

Having made two prior visits to their favoured hotspot of the Wolferton Triangle and not seen any, this was my first dawn visit and I was hoping for some success and a case of third time lucky! The previous evening we had sprinkled some seed along the roadside at one particular male’s favourite spot on the road, and returned early the next morning whilst it was still dark to watch and wait.

The first bird we clocked on to was a Woodcock busy feeding on the soft roadside verge – the only views I’ve actually had of this species on the ground. However, with the Goldies showing best early in the morning, and having been there since dawn with the time fast approaching 9 o’clock, we were getting a little concerned that we hadn’t seen anything – nearly an hour and a half in to the sunlight and still no sign of our target!

Several false alarms of Common Pheasants on the roadside gave us a little hope, then, as we turned the corner driving back along the North road – BOOM!! – he was there!!!! Success!!!!

The male in all his resplendent glory was stood at the side of the road, busy feeding on the previous nights seed in the company of the slightly larger Common Pheasant. Not wanting to startle him, we watched from a distance before slowly approaching in the car, looking on as he slowly crossed the road (interestingly chasing off the Common Pheasant quite aggressively) and continued to feast on the bounty of seed we had left out for him.

Usually seen quickly crossing the road before disappearing in to the thicket of Rhododendrons, this was a great opportunity to observe him at our leisure, providing around ten minutes in which we took in the absolutely stunning plumage, vivid feather colours and the magnificent tail.

After studying some photos of a bird seen a few weeks earlier (kindly supplied by Harry Murphy - shots on the right) I was interested to find out if this was in fact the same individual. Studying the two shots side by side and comparing the feather patterns on the neck in certain spots, it’s clear to see they match up and that this is indeed the same male. Also seen in the exact same spot, he seems to favour the area just in front of the sign near the junction at the end of the North Road adjoining the main road.

The bottom right feathers and top feather patterns are identical

The top feathers and the bottom corner feathers again show exactly the same markings

An in-depth look at the population:

Having been kept in captivity in the UK since 1725 and first released in to the wild in Norfolk in the 1840’s, Golden Pheasants have thrived in this particular spot and it is one of the best places in the country to see this brightly coloured wonder. Indeed, the UK birds are the only known fully established population in the wild outside China that are fully self-sustaining (included on the British list under Category C1E).

However, in recent years their numbers have been seen to decline, perhaps due to an increase in predation of adults and chicks from foxes, and it is unknown as to how many individuals may actually be left. The total UK population was estimated to be between just 85 and 118 pairs in 2000, and 15 years later this has fallen dramatically, so it is unknown just how many are still residing in this small patch of woodland. It would be interesting to determine how many birds are indeed left here, and whether all of the recent sightings have been of this same male. Indeed, with wild adult birds living for around 5-6 years, once he disappears will the number of sightings reduce significantly?

The male in his favourite spot just beyond the junction on the North Road

 This particular population has also been the subject of a fierce debate due to the dark throat colouration displayed by the individuals here – not typical of wild Golden Pheasants. Whilst once thought to be the result of hybridisation with Lady Amherst’s Pheasants, it is now believed that they are indeed pure and the unusual colouration is in fact the result of a gene mutation due to the depleted numbers and genetic bottleneck that has resulted.

This dark throated form, the variation “obscurus” (as seen in these birds) is commonly found and well known in captive populations of pure bred birds, and is widely seen through the captive rearing of Golden Pheasants due to the limited genetic flow and higher chance of gene mutation as a result.

The dark throat seen in var. obscurus is clearly visible

When a population is heavily inbred (due to the small numbers of individuals) as seen in the dwindling population of the Wolferton birds, such mutations are far more likely to occur, and in recent years the Breckland birds (another location in the UK) have also begun to show this characteristic. It is only natural that as the number of birds gets smaller and smaller, the mutation of the dark throat becomes more pronounced in those individuals that are left which are then left to breed with one another. With this species reluctance to cross open country, either via flight or on foot, dispersal and colonisation of new areas is extremely limited, with a lack of fresh genetic material contributing to the limited gene pool in the Wolferton Population.

It is also worth noting that no Lady Amherst’s Pheasants have been reported in the area (nor at the Brecklands site) and there is no evidence that they ever have, so it is extremely unlikely that hybridisation is the cause of the dark throat patch. Studying photos of hybrid Lady A x Golden Pheasants, the individuals all seem to display characteristics of both parents, red, blue and yellow feathers on the body, but white and black tails and neck feathers (as well as a distinct ‘scruffy’ appearance typical of hybrid birds). This is not the case with any of the Wolferton birds however, with the classic gold and black tail and neck feathers present with no hint of white.

Not a hint of white can be seen in the feathers of this individual indicating a lack of hybridisation

However, we also need to delve further in to the history of the released birds, as it is often stated that there are NO pure Lady A or Golden Pheasant populations anywhere in Europe. The captive stock released over 100 years ago may well have contained genes from both species (albeit 99% of one parent) with crosses somewhere in the parentage long ago in captivity.

The male showing off the beautiful feather patterns and fiery head crest

Regardless, they are absolutely remarkable birds, and it was a truly magical experience to finally have such great views of one – plastic fantastic indeed!