6 November 2012

Waxwing time

With the increasing number of Waxwings appearing in Orkney there is now a large number of apple halves out in the garden in an attempt to see some in the garden.

However it was a phone call from Colin this lunchtime to say he had just caught some in his garden if I was interested in ringing them. I was soon on my way.

A total of 11 Waxwings were ringed, one adult and ten youngsters.

An adult Waxwing
You can tell the difference between the juvenile and the adult by looking at the markings on the primary feathers. In the photo above of the adult you can see the white bands on the bottom edges of the primary feathers. These would be absent on the juvenile's feathers.

Hopefully I'll see some in my garden soon. There is already plans to plant lots of berry producing plants with the aim of making the garden more attractive for next winter.