The week started well. On Tuesday, I had taken a small group of people to visit Hawkswick Moor, a site YWT had just purchased; I had lead on the acquisition and due to various complications, it had taken almost a year. It was great to get it over the line at last and to get the chance to thank our supporters in person, for their patience as well as their funding. The hillside is studded with berry-laded Rowans and several hundred Fieldfares and Redwings were gorging themselves on the bounty as we climbed the track up the rocky scarp slope. To my surprise, I heard a familiar trill: a Waxwing! I didn't think I would be able to spot it among the hordes of Northern thrushes, but my colleague, Dwayne, pointed it out sitting atop a nearby small Ash. My guests were as delighted as me as we watched this bird flycatching, making aerial sallies from its lofty perch in the morning sun. I didn't have a camera, but the bird was close enough to get a few phone shots. There have been a few Waxwings down the east coast in recent days, so this could be the vanguard of a 'Waxwing Winter'. Time will tell!
Dwayne and the Waxwing, Hawkswick Moor
