With Waxwings not yet waning, another garrulus and self-indulgent bulletin on account of another couple of on-patch run-ins with them of late. As mentioned recently, I've been lucky to see them here at SNR in five of the last six months, but only in the last couple of days have they dropped out of the sky and into the treetops.
Walking to the office on Wednesday, nearby trilling magically cut through the traffic and human noise pollution, and a flock of 20 or more were perched in a tree bordering the East Res and the Jewish school. Hence the now familiar pavement-kneeling, bag-emptying, camera and/or bins grabbing routine in the busy street, at the exact spot (on Bethune Road) where I've had cause to do likewise for a Short-eared Owl, a flock of 100+ White-fronts, and various large raptors in the last couple of years.
Today, the same beautiful sound while on a circuit of the East Res, and a flock of 16 flitted overhead, swerved between the tower blocks and headed north out of sight. It could be a long time before our dark urban borough is graced by them again, so it seems only just to make the most of them.
