A few days ago, I failed to find the Pine Grosbeaks seen by others, but have now seen Bohemian Waxwings. Both of these species are irruptive: They are birds that occasionally visit when they irrupt from their normal feeding grounds in the north. Presumably, the rather cold weather of this last week brought them south.
Bohemian Waxwings were seen feeding on crab apples in pairs…
…and singly.
At last they irrupt in our area…have missed them!
I have not seen them yet in Nelson. I worry when I seen them as they insist on flying into my windows and can either be just stunned or, sometimes, sadly killed.
Saw them along Fourth Street in Nelson last week. Unfortunately they took off before I could get a photo.
Thanks Alistair for these beauties!
Jean, you can get unobtrusive dots/decals to apply to the outside of windows that cause the birds to view the windows as solid barriers, not air. I’ve heard they’re very effective at keeping mortality near zero, and they don’t obscure the view of humans looking out. Maybe someone who knows Jean can alert her to this, should she miss this email.