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The wave of winter cold did not scare the waxwings to migrate southwards; as long as there are berries on the trees there is no point in migrating yet. Fieldfare flocks also roam around searching for edibles in the trees even in the centre of Tallinn, and this year there is enough for the birds to eat.

 

The beautiful birds operate quietly in groups without fearing a watcher and in case of a disturbance the whole company often only flies to a neighbouring tree. The tundra and taiga zone nesters don’t encounter humans particularly often – from this the bold behaviour.

 

An attentive bird friend can easily distinguish between young and adult birds: the juveniles from this summer lack the black patch on the throat and the silky gloss is duller. The beak of the juveniles is grey and legs pinkish. Both juveniles and mature birds wear the splendid head crest.

 

The basic colour of the silkily gleaming plumage of adult birds is reddish brown and gray. A black mask around the eyes and a similarly coloured patch on the throat, a strong beak with a slightly curved tip. Wing feathers black, with yellow and white patches, tips of primaries yellow as is the tail tip – a quite colourful description, isn’t it. The legs of adult birds are black. The length of waxwings is about twenty centimetres and weight 60 grams on average.

 

A waxwing group acts quite voraciously in the trees and in a short while they can clear a rowan, juniper, dogrose, whitebeam, chokeberry (aronia) or hawthorn of fruits leaving the ground under the trees covered with berry flesh spill. Such a ”signature” we can see quite often but in a couple of days someone else in turn has carefully cleaned up the remains from under the trees – in nature nothing is wasted.
 

Midwinter numbers vary quite widely but the winter bird count will provide an answer.

 

Waxwing observations: LINK

 

Waxwings