The English name for Waxwing refers to the bright red
bead-like tips of the secondary feathers on its wings, which
look like drops of sealing wax, while 'Bohemian' refers to
its (presumed) origin from Bohemia at the time in 1555, a
relatively unknown but distant eastern place. This irruptive
species can be present in impressive numbers in some winters
but then absent from the same area for many years. Some
historical names for Waxwing include; Bohemian Jay, Silk
Tail, Waxen Chatterer and Northern Chatterer.
Waxwing is far from common in S. Gloucestershire but as an
irruptive species they can occur in impressive numbers;
2011: (c.120)
Four were seen on Moreton Way at Thornbury on January 1st;
Two were seen in the car park of the King William Pub at
Warmley on January 2nd; One was both seen and heard over New
Passage at 11:00 on January 6th; Eight were seen in trees
near Tesco Car Park on Wheatfield Drive at Bradley Stoke on
January 8th; Twenty were seen in the back gardens at Morley
Road Staple Hill on January 31st at 13:40 fifteen of which
were noted at Siston Hill Estate, Siston at 16:45; Nineteen
were present on Bickford Close, Warmley between 09:40 &
09:55 on February 1st; Twenty-one were present in the
Bellevue Road/Close/ Foxcote area at Kingswood in Bristol at
12:15 on February 6th and were back at Bickford Close,
Warmley again on February 9th; Twenty-eight were present on
Dewfalls Drive at Bradley Stoke around 09.45 on February
9th; Twenty-nine birds were noted just inside the S. Glos
boundary at Kenmore Drive, Filton outside number 26 at 12:30
on February 24th; Fourteen were seen at dusk on Orchard Gate
at Bradley Stoke on February 25th; Eleven were seen on March
4th at 17:45 sat in trees on a roundabout in Bradley Stoke
adjacent to the Bradley Stoke pub/ Aldi with 21 there at
17:40 on March 7th, 20 present on March 8th, 26 on March
10th, 24 on March 11th, 25 on March 12th at 18:00, 15 on
March 22ns at 8:20; Twenty were seen at Bradley Stoke on
March 21st on Three Brooks LNR; Ten were present on Braydon
Avenue, Little Stoke on March 26th.
One of twenty-one Waxwings at Kingswood. February 2011.
Martyn Hayes
Waxwings at Siston & Warmley. January and February 2011. Ben
Ofield & Pete Coslett.
2010: (c.260)
Two were seen in trees in the car park on Cecil Road,
Kingswood opposite the Royal Mail Sorting Office at 10:50 on
November 26th; Two were seen in tree tops in the Bellevue
Road area of Kingswood in Bristol and were present between
08:00 and 08:05 and a further six were seen and heard low
over Wesley Avenue, Hanham at 14:55 on November 27th; One
was seen at Oldbury Power Station in the morning on December
7th; Eighteen were seen in trees on Moreton Way at Thornbury
near Chiltern Park at 11:30 and at least three were seen on
Blackhorse Lane at the rear of Blackhorse School at 14:00 on
December 11th; Three were present on St Johns Way at
Chipping Sodbury on December 12th; Four were seen on
Mariston Way, Warmley on December 11th rising to twenty on
December 12th with ten still present on Millfield Drive,
Warmley on December 14th; On December 14th one was reported
from Thornbury at 09:15 and around ten were seen in flight
heading east over the A38 at Patchway at 13:00; On December
15th at least 13 were still on show at Millfield Drive,
Warmley around 11:30, nearby 11+ were counted along Cadbury
Heath Road at 14:30 and an unconfirmed report of eight
present at the MOD site at Abbey Wood, Filton also at 14:30;
Twenty-two were logged at Leap Valley and Sandown Close at
Downend on December 18th; Two were present in a garden at
Mangotsfield at 10:48 and a further three were in trees near
the Blackhorse garage on Emerson's Way at 13:15 on December
19th; Three were seen in trees from Bellevue Road in
Kingswood at 13:45 for five minutes on December 22nd;
Twenty-five were seen on Braydon Avenue at Little Stoke at
13:00 on December 23rd; Thirteen were present in a garden at
Brimsham Park in Yate at 15:50 on December 24th with twelve
still present on December 25th rising to c.20 on December
26th ; One was both seen and heard at Pipits Court on
Riverside Park at Severn Beach on December 25th and was
watched heading towards the Railway Station; On December
27th thirty-nine were seen on Wheatfield Drive with two more
on Hawkins Crescent at Bradley Stoke, plus a further five on
Rodway Road at Mangotsfield; On December 28th at Bradley
Stoke on Wheatfield Drive c.30 were present, nearby c.40
were noted at the Community Centre (dropping to three on
December 29th) and c.20 were seen in Tesco Car Park;
Fourteen were present in the morning at St Andrews, Yate
plus six on Gipsy Patch Lane/ Orpheus Avenue at Patchway on
December 29th.
One of at least ten Waxwings in Warmley. December 2010.
Martyn Hayes.
Waxwings at Chipping Sodbury. December 2010. Darren Pearce
Waxwings at Emerson's Green. December 2010. Andy Jordon.
2008: (2)
Two were seen in a garden in St. Adlams Drive at
Pucklechurch mid morning on December 9th feeding on golden
berries.
2005: (500+)
January: (Peak - 226)
22nd: (22) This year's UK invasion of Waxwing eventually
reached the west country in January around the 22nd: At
Bromley Heath there were twenty-two on Bromley Heath Road
and Quakers Road by the Ring Road junction in the afternoon.
23rd: (c.50) On the A38 between Falfield and Whitfield; At
Thornbury there were eight in the morning at Morton Way,
plus two more on Link Road.
24th: (13) There were three on Morton Way at Thornbury; Ten
on the corner of Tower Road and Cadbury Heath Road in
Warmley near the King William Pub late afternoon.
25th: (58) There were fifteen on Morton Way in Thornbury
early morning, twenty-six early afternoon and fifty-three
late afternoon; In Hanham there were five in the afternoon
at the Memorial Road end of Whittuck's Road.
26th: (67) Fourteen were present at Morton Way in Thornbury;
Two were present for about forty-five minutes at the
Memorial Road end of Whittuck's in Hanham early morning;
Forty-three were at Longwell Green on Lacock Drive in the
afternoon; Eight were in the car park of the King William
pub in Warmley.
27th: (97) There were eighteen at Morton Way in Thornbury in
the morning; Forty were in the car park of the King William
pub in Warmley at the junction of Tower Road and Cadbury
Heath Road; In Longwell Green thirty-nine were on Lacock
Drive in the afternoon.
29th: (11) Eleven were seen at Bockingham Close in Thornbury
in the afternoon.
30th: (186) Eleven were on Morton Way at Thornbury in the
morning; A hundred and thirty-five were at Mangotsfield in
trees opposite Mangotsfield School in the afternoon; Forty
were on Lacock Drive at Longwell Green in the afternoon.
31st: (226) Twenty-three were on Morton Way at Thornbury in
the morning; Around a hundred and thirty were at
Mangotsfield in the morning, outside Mangotsfield School and
were probably first seen on January 28th; A further four
were in trees on Mangotsfield Road close to the junction
with Chestnut Court; At Longwell Green fifty were seen on
Craven Way; Another four were on Marsham Way at Warmley in
the morning; Fifteen were on the corner of Cadbury Heath
Road and Newton Road.
February: (Peak - 440)
1st: (440) In Mangotsfield at Mangotsfield School around a
hundred and thirty were seen mid morning; Around eighty were
seen at Northcote Road; Four were on Mangotsfield Road in
the shops area: Four were seen in Mangotsfield churchyard;
Two more were noted on Rodway Road; Around fifty were
reported from Mangotsfield Green in the afternoon; In
Downend about sixty were seen on Chestnut Road in the
afternoon; At Longwell Green about a hundred were seen on
Lacock Drive mid afternoon.
2nd: (266) Twenty-two were reported from Morton Way in
Thornbury in the morning; Twenty-one were seen in
Mangotsfield on Northcote Road mid morning; At Cadbury
Heath there were around eighty near Parkwall Primary School
on Earlstone Crescent mid afternoon; Nine were seen on
Lacock Drive mid afternoon; About thirty-five on Tower Road
in Warmley; In Downend thirty-eight were in the trees
between Hawthorn Road and Downend Road; And sixty near the
BT building on Chestnut Road.
3rd: (108) In Thornbury there were twenty-two reported from
Morton Way; In Cadbury Heath eighty-seven were seen on
Earlstone Crescent.
4th: (128) Six were reported on Morton Way in Thornbury in
the morning; In Downend seventy-eight were opposite the
cricket pitch on the corner of Chestnut Road early
afternoon; In Cadbury Heath forty-four were near Parkwall
Primary in Earlstone Crescent late morning.
5th: (242) A hundred and twenty-two were noted in Cadbury
Heath near Parkwall Primary on Earlstone Crescent late
morning; At Downend around a hundred and twenty were near
the cricket pitch early afternoon.
6th: (145) A massive a hundred and forty-five were counted
at Downend near the cricket pitch.
7th: (162) The total climbed to a hundred and fifty at
Downend around the cricket pitch; In Longwell Green there
were twelve on Lacock Drive late morning.
8th: (341) There were four at Thornbury along the A38 at
Whitfield in the morning, near the entrance to Eastwood Park
garden centre; At Downend there were eighty-seven counted
near the cricket pitch but peaked at two-hundred and fifty.
11th: (185) Near Thornbury at Eastwood Park numbers peaked
at thirty-five; Numbers peaked in the Patchway/ Filton/
Stoke Gifford at one-hundred and fifty.
March: (6) There were four at Filton on the 9th with six
present on March 10th.
April: (30) The final flock of the winter was seen at
Longwell Green on the 14th when a group of thirty were
noted.
November: (1) An individual was reported from Severn Beach
on November 20th.
Waxwing at Cadbury Heath. February 2005. Rob Laughton
2004: (36)
Thirty-six were present on December 30th - 31st on Morton
Way at Thornbury.
1999: (1)
A
1st winter was present from February 7th - 9th on Morton Way
at Thornbury.
Waxwing at Thornbury. February 1999. JG Prince.
1996: (1)
One was at Mangotsfield on February 17th.
1978: (1)
One was reported from Filton on February 10th - 11th feeding
in a garden on Cotoneaster berries.
1971: (1)
A
single bird was reported from Hallen on December 5th.
1958: (1)
One was found on January 14th at Aust.
1947: (1)
One was seen on February 23rd at Filton.