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Thursday 16 December 2010

Chasing Waxwings...

Well we spent a couple of hours looking for them this morning around the locations where Mick had seen them and/or been reported on NBW. The berries were finished on the rowan on the sheltered housing where Mick had got permission on Chewton Rd, but they'd not touched 3 rowans just along the road (maybe because there was no roost tree for them to swoop down from?). We looked round Smithurst Rd and also found half stripped trees nr Church St, Eastwood, but still no birds. Our last shot was pretty much the Nuthall/Watnall area and bingo we found c120 birds in a high treetop. The Waxies were going down to two feeding sites that we could see: a front garden sorbus (c20 birds) via a 10m high tree in a roadside garden & an apple tree in the school caretaker's garden. A chance chat with one of the neighbours (who enquired if we were twitchers) led to him contacting the garden sorbus owner who consented to us netting in her garden. Meanwhile we'd been allowed to put up a net in the caretaker's garden. On Jenny's advice we then hung on for the hoped pre-roost feed. This just about materialised with 3 birds by the roadside net and the one bird flew in to it; making Mick a happy fella, plus the apples bought in 2 blackbirds.

Trying again tomorrow so hopefully more news and pics to com...

Jim

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