Bohemian Waxwing
Bohemian Waxwing / bombycilla garrulus. Hassop, Derbyshire. 29/12/23.
As well as watching my local Waxwing flock in December, 2023, there was breaking news of a flock of c350+ birds feeding on hawthorn berries in the Derbyshire Dales. Soon afterwards lots of mouth watering images appeared on social media and included birds on the ground, drinking water. These were enough to prompt a visit, because it's long been a wish of mine to photograph Waxwings on the ground.
The birds had attracted a huge number of admirers and it was extremely crowded whilst I was there ... definitely not my preferred scenario! Any hope of finding birds dropping down to puddles on/near the track was out of the question. I'd almost resigned myself to just watching the Waxwings feed and use the time to plan for a quieter post-Christmas visit. However, then I noticed birds dropping down into a field the other side of a low stone wall. Further investigation showed they were drinking from puddles in wheel rut depressions. Blades of grass and other vegetation made focusing challenging and inevitably birds were partially obscured. Making images proved really hard work, lots were immediately assigned to Trash and just a few record shots were my reward.
Bohemian Waxwing
Bohemian Waxwing / bombycilla garrulus. Hassop, Derbyshire. 29/12/23.
As well as watching my local Waxwing flock in December, 2023, there was breaking news of a flock of c350+ birds feeding on hawthorn berries in the Derbyshire Dales. Soon afterwards lots of mouth watering images appeared on social media and included birds on the ground, drinking water. These were enough to prompt a visit, because it's long been a wish of mine to photograph Waxwings on the ground.
The birds had attracted a huge number of admirers and it was extremely crowded whilst I was there ... definitely not my preferred scenario! Any hope of finding birds dropping down to puddles on/near the track was out of the question. I'd almost resigned myself to just watching the Waxwings feed and use the time to plan for a quieter post-Christmas visit. However, then I noticed birds dropping down into a field the other side of a low stone wall. Further investigation showed they were drinking from puddles in wheel rut depressions. Blades of grass and other vegetation made focusing challenging and inevitably birds were partially obscured. Making images proved really hard work, lots were immediately assigned to Trash and just a few record shots were my reward.