Waxwing With Rowanberry
Found in Bangor, County Down. In winter in Northern Ireland Waxwings, which are winter visitors, coming to the British Isles when berries are hard to find on the Continent of Europe flock and seek out Rowan trees. A group of hungry Waxwings can strip a Rowan tree of berries in less than an hour! In a garden in Bangor about 8 miles from where I live, there are three rowan trees, and a small group of waxwings occasionally sample the berries. I drove along the ice covered road to where a friend suggested they might turn up.The birds would fly in, eat a few berries and fly to another tree for maybe 20-30 minutes before coming back for more. I shot this one as it picked a berry, tossed it in the air and grabbed it on the way down. I used my Olympus OM-1 with a 100-400mm Zuiko Zoom and a 1.4x multiplier (full frame equivalent 280 - 1120mm) on a tripod and watched them for about an hour before getting this shot.
Daniel
Ards and North Down u3a
