There has been a sudden influx of migrant blackbirds from Northern Europe who are very hungry and thirsty and spend alot of time eating, drinking and splashing about in the bird bath. Not sure exactly what weather conditions they left behind them.
Birdwatchers in the north have been reporting large invasions of exotic waxwings, a bird the size of a starling that breeds in Russia and Northern Scandinavia. They have a silky grey-brown plumage with waxy red,white and yellow markings on each wing, a prominent crest and a black throat. These invasions are quite erratic, possibly due to a failure in the crop of their favourite food of rowan berries or a population explosion after a particularly good rowan harvest. Flocks this week have been sighted in Sutherland, Nethybridge, at the RSPB nature reserve at Abernethy and, not far from here, a flock of about 150 at Burghead in Moray.
We have actually seen waxwings once before about ten years ago when a large gang suddenly descended on the nearby rowan trees in late September and rapidly stripped the trees bare of berries.
Update Wednesday...We think we saw a flock of them in Inverness this morning.
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