Waxwing outlook not so good.

[glsammy]

Yesterday I visited the site I saw Waxwings at last February. I was shocked to see that the trees they rely a lot on, Rowan Trees, were completely bare of any berries. Today I went to two other sites, exactly the same. No Berries = No Waxwings.

Is it the same in your area? If so, what's going on,why have they finished so early this year? Last year they were all full of berries well into March.

[JeffH]

I don't know if this has anything to do with it Graham but this winter I've seen some of the largest Fieldfare and Redwing flocks that I can recall and our local Hawthorn hedges are all looking pretty bare now. Let's hope the remainder of the winter doesn't prove too harsh for locals and visitors alike

Jeff

[naturelover]

i have noticed also the holly trees have no berrys left,befor christmas they were loaded in berrys meaning we were in for a bad winter,and its not because people picked it for christmas because the tree i am talking about is masive,and i had never seen so many berrys on one tree in my life but now its stripped of ever one.

[Ukwildlifeo]

I noticed there were no berrys. We did a scavenger hunt yesterday and one item was 'red berrys' and despite being in an area of forest the size of a football pitch scttered with holly bushes not a berry in site

[Dogghound]

Plenty of berries here. Hope they come after them. Great little birds.

[epops]

local tesco and asda carparks still have loads of them(berrys not waxwings) but me garden berrys have all been eaten up by the local blackbird and thrushes

[ron1863]

I have never seen a live Waxwing but then I don't know if any visit central Scotland.
The berry situation is fairly good up here with lots of Rowan and Hawthorn berries about and I've seen flocks of Redwing and Fieldfares.
Holly berries are scarce as I found out when my partner asked me to collect some for Xmas and I had to walk for miles to find one still with berries on.

[Fourwings]

There's still plenty of berries in the towns in Leicestershire and thankfully Waxwings are quite happy venturing well into built up areas.
The last time I saw a Waxwing it was in Sainsburys carpark in the centre of Loughborough!

[coasty]

I think the answer is in the posts the birds move around in groups and will completely strip all the trees in an area, Then move on. As doghound says there are loads of berries near us and I have seen very few waxwings..
So I shall expect them to turn up in our area. In the past when there have been large falls of these birds near me they only hang around a few days, When the food gos so do they...

[aeshna5]

The Hawthorns near me are virtually devoid of berries + there are only small numbers of winter thrushes. Needless to say no Waxwings!