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Introduction
If you have received this then the chances are you were involved one way or another with the Waxwing
ringing undertaken by Grampian Ringing Group in and around Aberdeen during winter 2008‐09.
This is a brief summary of the ringing results from November 2008 when 137 were colour‐ringed at various
locations around Aberdeen. Thanks very much to you all for your help.
The waxwing is a thrush sized bird which breeds in the remote pine forests of northern Scandinavia and
Russia. It is a truly beautiful bird with its ochre coloured plumage, distinctive crest and waxy coloured feather tips on
its wings which gives the species its name (see photograph below). In winter it feeds on berries, but in some years
these are in short supply near their breeding grounds and they have to move further in search of food. It is when this
happens that they “invade” Britain, sometimes in their thousands.
YRW (Yellow over Red over White), a juvenile Waxwing colour‐ringed on Scotstown Road, Bridge of Don on 9/11/8
photographed 12 days later on 21/11/8 in Barrow, Lancashire by Mark Breaks.
Ringing results from November 2008
The table and maps below show the main Waxwing ringing sites in and around Aberdeen in November 2008
along with numbers ringed and the distribution of birds subsequently resighted/recovered.
Site Number ringed Number resighted/dead Number wintered in Abdn
>20km from Aberdeen
Allenvale Cemetery 39 10 (4 multiple) 1
Scotstown Road, Bridge of Don 40 10 (2 multiple) 1
Marriot Hotel, Dyce 32 7 (2 multiple) 1
Aberdeen University 19 3 (1 multiple) 0
Salamis, Bridge of Don Birds didn’t wait until the weekend, grrrr!
Others 7 0 0
137 30 3
The overall sightings map includes 3 not attributable to an exact ringing site.
Summary
It is interesting that some remained to winter in Aberdeen while the majority continued on south
throughout Britain in search of berries.
The boom in digital photography helped provide a lot of sightings, some not discovered until folk
were home at night in front of their pcs downloading them! Fortunately most birds were reported alive and
well but we also received birds found dead which had hit windows or been taken by cats.
ORO, a juvenile male ringed at Scotstown Road on
9/11/8 made an interesting series of movements,
caught on camera on all three occasions. It was first
sighted and photographed by Alan Gilbertson at
Alnwick in Northumberland on 26/11/8 before
deviating west to the Isle of Man 10 days later
where it was photographed on 6/12/8 by Peter
Hadfield. Rather than continue west to Ireland it
decided to head back east and appeared in Gamston
in South Nottinghamshire 10 days later where it was
photographed on 16 & 17th December by Lynne
Demaine.
GW, a juvenile ringed at the Marriot Hotel on 13/11/8 turned up at Rendlesham in Suffolk on 12/12/8. It was a very
well watched and photographed bird as it fed on guilder rose berries as seen in photographs by Steve Plume (top
left), Tony Belsham (above) and many others. Unfortunately it was taken by a cat nearly 2 months later, on 8/2/9.
Amazingly in January GW was also joined by YW, a juvenile male ringed in Allenvale Cemetery on 11/11/8.
YW had been seen in Stockport by Peter Hines on 30/12/8 before turning up at Rendlesham on 4/1/9 and staying
until at least 25/1/9 where it was photographed by Rebecca Nason and Phil Harris (top right).
WLR, ringed as a juvenile at Aberdeen University on BB, ringed as a juvenile female at Allenvale on 11/11/8, a
22/11/8 photographed 17 days later on 9/12/8 in Ian tricky combination very well captured at Skipton, North
Armstrong’s garden at Dalston, Cumbria by David Yorkshire on 5/12/8 by Jonathan Pomroy.
Hickson.
OLO, ringed as a juvenile male on Scotstown Road on BGB, ringed as a juvenile female on Scotstown Road on
09/11/8, turned up at Maldon in Essex on 6/1/9, 9/11/8, photographed in flight at Finglas, County Dublin
and remained there for over a month feeding mainly in the Irish Republic by Paul Kelly. 1 of 2 colour‐ringed
on rose hips. Photo by Simon Patient. birds to cross the Irish Sea.
OWG, a particularly striking adult male ringed at the RW, ringed as a young male in Allenvale Cemetery on
Marriot Hotel on 13/11/8 and photographed at 11/11/8, resighted and photographed (above) on 4/2/9
Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottingham on at Alvaston, Derbyshire by Richard Pegler then at Burton‐on‐
29/12/8 by Robert Hoare. The large and bright waxy Humber, North Lincolnshire from 14th to 19th April by
tips, broad yellow tail band and prominent hook Graham Catley, our latest report from down south.
pattern down the primary tips can all be clearly seen.
Thanks very much to the following local people for their assistance:
Bob Brown, operations manager at the Marriot Hotel, for granting us permission to ring the waxwings
outside the hotel front door.
Sid and Lorna and neighbours on North Donside Road for putting up with us crowding up their front street
whilst ringing birds at Scotstown Road.
Liz and McEwan for the running emails about the flock devouring their way around the university and
impending overpowering of the mistle thrush and its white rowan outside the library.
Lorraine Stuart in Office Services at Salamis for allowing us permission to ring waxwings in the car park at the
weekend, sadly the waxwings didn’t wait that long!
To the many members of the public and house holders we have enjoyed the waxwings with together.
Thanks very much to the following bird watchers, ringers, photographers and members of the public throughout
Britain for their contribution through reporting their sightings of colour‐ringed birds, sending photographs of colour‐
ringed birds, reporting dead ringed birds or ringing birds themselves:
Raymond Duncan raymond@waxwing.fsnet.co.uk
(On behalf of Grampian Ringing Group)
Colour‐ringed waxwing ROG (red over orange over dark green), ringed as a juvenile at Kelland’s Primary School,
Inverurie on 30/10/4 photographed outside Burnley Fire Station on 5/12/4 by Jane and Mike Malpas. Seen and
photographed again 30km away on 5/1/5 at Lockwood in Huddersfield by Sean Gray.
The above is one of many colour‐ringed waxwings photographed around the UK during the large invasion of winter
2004/05. Over the page is a report to the British Trust for Ornithology of a dead colour‐ringed bird from that invasion
killed by a cat the following winter in the USSR, 3714km to the east beyond the Ural Mountains, north of
Khazakhstan, and closer to Mongolia than Aberdeen.