The Waxwing

by Jo Angell

My first image takes pride of place and features in my calendar for the month of January.

The waxwing, a starling sized bird with a prominent and distinctive crest with colourful markings. They travel over from Scandinavia in the winter and feast on the berries particularly rowan and hawthorn.

Last winter (end of 2016 into early 2017) was an extremely good year for them in the UK. Having never seen these birds before I was not only keen to see them but photograph them too. Sightings across the north of the country were in daily and as these birds travelled down the country it didn’t take long before they reached my area of Buckinghamshire. I was lucky enough to see them in 3 different locations within a short drive from home – Roade, Bletchley and Bedford town.

This particular photo was taken in Bedfordshire where a photographer friend updated me on the location where there was a flock of waxwings not far from the town. It was a beautiful bright day and a small flock of waxwings were feasting on the last of the berries, despite being next to a very busy road, path and bus stop these birds would fly onto the trees, feed for a short time before flying back to roost in some tall trees in the distance.

The photo shows the beautiful colourings of this stunning bird doing what they do best – enjoying the berries.

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Copyright Jo Angell Photography 2018