Sprung a Leek

It's been pretty quiet round here this weekend. Yesterday Uttoxeter Quarry had a Green Sand, a Dunlin, 3 Wigeon and that's the best it got. Oh yes, also a White-fronted Goose (christened "Wagner" on another blog, someone's been watching X Factor!) with the Greylags. No doubt the feral bird that was around in the summer, pity that.

There have been some Waxwings in Leek over the last week. I'm sure there's no real hurry to see them, as it looks like there's such a large invasion further north, it's only a matter of time before there'll be many of them round these parts. But seeing as I didn't know what else to do, I decided to have a look around some classic Waxwing habitat. Namely, the Barnfields Industrial Estate:



On arrival yesterday afternoon, I'd missed them by about 20 minutes and didn't come back. So gave that up and tried Swallow Moss until dusk, and that was birdless as well!

So another try for the Waxwings this morning was rather more successful, as six birds were present. Most of the time perched in a large Ash tree, then coming down to feed on the berries of a small Rowan on the opposite side of the road. And as is usually the case with Waxwings, allowing for good photo opportunities: