Winter Birds In Shropshire
We’re here in Shropshire for a few days visiting family and friends. This morning brought a surprise gift to us when a flock of waxwings swooped into the garden to breakfast on crab apples and berries. What a delight! This is the first time I have ever seen a waxwing let alone photographed one. In fact it was a first for most of the household and elicited much whispered excitement and wide-eyed wonder! I was also treated to the presence of a single fieldfare that was boisterous in its defence of territory from the blackbirds. The territory in question contained the largest amount of windfall apples in the garden! Unusual to see one on its own. Although I have come away without my computer I absolutely had to get a few images onto my phone for processing. Hope you enjoy them!
Taking One Day At A Time 
Beautiful! I have heard of Waxwings but don’t recall seeing photos of them, very handsome birds. There is something wise and knowing about the faces of Robins, to me. Were all the photos taken in Shropshire? Best to you for 2017, Sarah.
Thanks Ardys 🙂 Waxwings are only over here for the winter! Just incredible to finally see them for myself. Robins have so much character and really do have expressive faces 🙂 All taken today in my mother-in-law’s gardens! It’s a haven for wildlife, particularly birds. I always have fun watching them 🙂
Looks beautiful, I agree with the comment above, I love seeing Robins too. We have a pair who spend most of their day around our kitchen window and on the terrace, they always look like such cheeky characters! Wishing you a very happy an healthy 2017
Thanks so much 🙂 Yes robins are fantastic characters to have in the garden! As a child I was very fond of a little robin that would come all the way into the house and sit in the kitchen singing for food 😀 Happy New Year to you too!
Well done Sarah! Wonderful collection and always such a pleasure when it is unexpected.
Thanks Chris 🙂 Yes, the unexpected is the most thrilling! It’s so great watching the birds up there. Better than anything on TV 😉
Blimey Sarah, your m-i-l’s garden is a veritable nature reserve! What luck with the waxwings! And what luck for us that you were there with your camera to capture all these lovely birds. Such beautiful photos as usual.
Thanks Jude 🙂 Oh it was such an amazing morning with the birds!! Honestly, I could just sit in the garden watching them all day. Yes, it’s important to Heather and Julian to be creating a haven for wildlife 🙂
and so beautiful they are!
Thanks Cybele 🙂 They truly are!!
Really wonderful images, Sarah – especially the waxwings (a bird I’ve only seen once) and the Fieldfare, but the shots of the Robin, GS Woodpecker (strong image!) and Nuthatch are also excellent. Adrian
Thanks Adrian 😀 Just wonderful to get to watch birds that I’ve never seen with my own eyes before! The robin was being coy but finally posed perfectly on the frost which was so pretty 🙂 The woodpeckers make me laugh with how they approach the orchard with the bird feeders! I just loved the sight of him amongst those branches. They usually cling to the back of every branch and trunk on route to the feeder, just peeking their heads out to check the coast is clear. Great to get him in profile 🙂 The fieldfare was really quite a character too! Chasing off the blackbirds from his apple hoard 😉 Strange thing is it was on it’s own! A few flocks have been seen in nearby fields but this enterprising bird has found the garden and decided to keep it to himself!
Sarah, you are one of the few bloggers who, in my experience, give good long answers to comments – I enjoy these answers very much – thank you! – it is a real pleasure following your blog. Adrian
I love chatting when I have a bit of time, especially when it’s about the passions I share with blogging friends! Your comments always so much appreciated Adrian 🙂 I should imagine that if I had many more comments I’d start finding it hard to respond properly to people!
Beautiful. I love the waxwings. We get them occasionally and they’re one of my favorites.
Thanks Tux 🙂 The waxwings made my year!! So much fun watching them and I was glad they actually stuck around for more than just a few minutes. Incredibly beautiful birds!
Fabulous
Thanks mum 😀
Hey Sarah just beautiful. Those waxwings are so pretty .. love this collection. Happy New Year 😃
Thanks Julie 🙂 Happy New Year to you too! The waxwings go down as my birding highlight of the year. It’s often down to luck finding the winter migrant birds and I was definitely having a truly blessed day 😀
Oh you sure were! Happy NY 😃
😀
Those photos are beautiful 🙂
Thanks Alex 🙂 I had beautiful subjects!! Love your sketching style btw. Nice to virtually meet you and looking forward to seeing more of your work 🙂
These are amazing! What camera/lens do you use?
Thanks so much 😀 These were all taken with the Sony a6000 with mount adapter for the Sigma 50-500mm. It’s a great lens for getting closer to my subjects but sometimes a bit slow to autofocus so if I can get it on the tripod and focus manually I usually get the best shots. Love my Sony cameras 🙂 Mirrorless is perfect for me as it’s lightweight and easy to transport.
Wow, first time seeing it and captured in photo! 🙂
Thanks Amy 🙂 I never venture out into my mother-in-law’s gardens without the camera but it’s often so much down to luck when photographing birds, particularly the winter visitors! It was utterly magical 😀
I love those waxwings. Ours here in Virginia have a pinkish underbelly. they are quite lively especially when they move as a mob while migrating.
Thanks Annette 🙂 Oh, a mob is right! Bit like the starlings. There are a few subspecies I think. They all spend summer in the artic before coming further south. I wonder if it’s the same species or the cedar waxwing you have seen? Waxwings in the UK for winter don’t often come as far West across the country so to see them close to the Welsh borders was such an unexpected treat 😀
Yes, we have the cedar waxwings here…here are my two posts on them: https://beautyalongtheroad.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/bittersweet/ and https://beautyalongtheroad.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/migration/ They never come close to the house, so I had to do the best I could with my zoom lens.
I was very lucky that they flocked into my mother-in-law’s gardens while we were there! She has the perfect fruit trees for them though 🙂 Love the yellow belly on the cedar waxwing! I had to use my 50-500 to get these shots even though they came into the garden. It’s an encounter that will stay with me forever!
These are beautiful photos, Sarah
Thanks so much Bruce 🙂
Nice photos
Thanks so very much 🙂
those are the most incredible photos of waxwings I have ever seen.
Thanks so much Rob 🙂 I feel so utterly blessed to have been able to watch and photograph them! They don’t often come as far across the UK from the East Coast. I am going to post a few more images of them now that I’ve been able to get the sd card downloaded onto the computer for a full process 🙂
Saw my first ones this year in Yorkshire, amazing birds and the sound they make is amazing.
Thanks so much 🙂 Yes they’re just amazing! I really was thrilled to see them with my own eyes after all these years. Glad you got to see them too this year!