Waxing Lyrical On Waxwings

I read online this morning that waxwings had been seen at Turnford. Having only seen waxwings once and those from a distance, I decided to go and investigate. I wasn't sure of the exact position but needn't have worried, quite a gaggle of twitchers, birders and toggers were gathered at the New River Arms roundabout.

When I arrived I was told that the birds had been feeding on a rowan tree in the middle of the roundabout but had gone. A ripple of excitement ran through the waiting throng when they reappeared. They didn't stay long as they were being harried by a mistle thrush who had claimed and was guarding, the fruit.

They came back and forth a few times but the tree was really too far away for decent pics. The crowd started to break up and I headed for home, happy to have at least seen them. As I was crossing the bridge over the A10 to get to the slip road I spotted the whole flock of thirty-three at eye-level in a tree right next to the bridge. I pulled over, don't suppose one is meant to stop there and got lots of shots. Other birders saw me and stopped too. What a result for us all. :)

It was lovely to see these beautiful birds all the way from Scandinavia. They get the name waxwing from the red barbless tips to some of their wing feathers which look like sealing-wax. My granny used to have a stick of the stuff in her drawer and I remember her using it on documents and making an impression in the hot wax with a ring-like seal. Their genus name Bombycilla means silktail on account of their extremely soft silky plumage. 

Today's poem is Recuerdo by Edna St Vincent Millay https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/recuerdo

The poet is remembering a date with Salomon de la Selva when they took the Staten Island ferry. I have good memories of being very tired and very merry on family holidays on inter-island ferries. The moon, the dawn, the sun rising dripping a bucketful of gold and shawl-covered heads. :)