Bohemian Waxwing influx

Bohemian Waxwings are famously irruptive. Our first of the season showed up about a month ago, on October 16. Since then I've noticed a few small flocks of up to a dozen birds around town. Most were foraging in ornamental crab apple trees.

Today, those same crab apple trees hosted scores of newly arrived birds. Elsewhere, I saw and heard many more flocks of up to 80 birds. Clearly, they're on the move. Because their winter survival depends on a steady supply of sugary fruit, there is nothing to keep them here once the crab apples are gone. In neighbouring jurisdictions like Algoma, where there are good crops of Mountain-ash fruit, the Bohemian Waxwings should settle in for the winter.

Here are a few photos from today.

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The Bohemian Waxwing has an Holarctic distribution. In Europe it is known simply as the Waxwing. Birds from northern Europe are, just now, arriving in the U.K. Here are some truly wonderful Waxwing photographs taken a few weeks ago in Scotland.

In lieu of Mountain-ash...

After two heavy mast years, the abundant Mountain-ash along the north shore bore little fruit in 2010 and now virtually none remains on the trees. Our fruit-eating birds and mammals have depleted the more consistent wild crops of Red Osier Dogwood, Squashberry and Pin Cherry. We can expect that far fewer fruit-eating birds - American Robins, waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks et al. - will spend the winter in our area. Presently, the local crop of ornamental crabapple fruit is being rapidly consumed by European Starling, Pine Grosbeak, Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings, American Robin, Purple Finch and a (late) Gray Catbird.

[click on images to enlarge]

Gray Catbird (Oct 22)

Bohemian Waxwing (Oct 21)

Cedar Waxwings (Oct 28)

American Robin (Oct 22)

Pine Grosbeak (Nov 10)

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Vosburgh