It was a grey grey day but the local high street was lit up with hundreds of Waxwings. They were feeding on the main street which is very difficult for photography: you can’t predict which tree they will swarm down to, there are loads of cars, buses and pedestrians going past which spooks them and it is impossible to cross the road quickly. Plus it was very dark and gloomy.
The Dusky Thrushes, Bramblings and Hawfinches were still around too.
A typical view of Waxwings………….
Yesterday a smaller flock of Waxwings came back to the same park…….
The last 7 or 8 days has been a Waxwing extravaganza.
The Waxwing flock has split up into smaller groups allowing for some shots with different backgrounds……..
These were very near my apartment. The background is just an apartment building wall.
I took a lot of Waxwing photos last Friday……….
Some more Waxwings from a few days ago…….
For slightly out of focus, fuzzy, noisy pics a tweak of the white balance can help a bit.
Some more blurry Waxwing flight shots from a few days ago. The flock was still in town on Monday morning.
The Waxwings were easily disturbed. They don’t seem to mind people that much but they really really hate cars and fly off as soon as one drives past.
The flock also attracted raptors which also causes them to fly off. On Sunday morning a Eurasian Sparrowhawk nabbed one. A Peregrine and Northern Goshawk were also around eyeing them.
Passerines are hard for decent BIF shots, these and the above post are the best of a bad bunch.
When they swarm down it’s chaos for a few seconds.
The whole week has been a Waxwing feast.
I took a lot of Waxwing photos in case you hadn’t noticed. Will they stick around? Maybe yes maybe no.
As long as there are berries………..
They’ll probably up and leave soon………
