My VLW and our two daughters had decided to go to London today, leaving me at home with Luke our six year old son. I wasn't intending to go out birding with him and had even been left a shopping list to keep me occupied. However when a Badger Bird Text came through saying that Jon Uren had found a flock of Waxwing just up the road in Marsh Lane, Marston I thought that it would be rude of me not to pop in - after all it was practically on the way to Summertown for the shopping anyway. Therefore, despite the rain, Luke and I got the shopping bags together and then bundled in the car and sped off. I wasn't sure where exactly to go and there was no sign of anything along the road itself so I turned into the sports stadium car park where low and behold there were Badger & Peter Law staring at a hedge - the Wickster and the Paranoid Birder soon turned up as well. It turned out that a flock of nearly 30 of the little beauties were hanging out in the area and making periodic sorties to the hedge where they'd gorge themselves on Hawthorn berries before retreating back to the higher branches of the trees. I spent some time watching and trying to photograph them in the gloom and rain whilst Luke amused himself splashing in puddles and generally getting himself wetter than was prudent. After a while the birds seemed to have moved on and we needed to go and shop anyway so we left. Given that Luke was rather soaked and I'd happened to have forgotten the shopping list anyway we went home first before heading off for the shopping. Can't complain though - one can never have enough of Waxwings.
The flock loitering with intent in the upper branches...
...keeping look out...
...making a raid on the lower branches
A Masked Berry Bandit
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