Waxwings fly in to Whiteknights
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
A waxwing on a bush outside the Harborne building
'These exotic looking birds have travelled in from Scandinavia and northern Russia in search of berries.'
This year waxwings, noted for their distinctive pink plumage and ‘punk' hairstyle, have arrived in Britain in the biggest numbers for a decade, and a flock of these colourful birds have recently taken up residence on the Whiteknights campus.
They are currently residing outside the Harborne Building, which is home to the School of Biological Sciences, at the back of car park 13.
Head of the School, Dr Mark Fellowes, said: "These exotic looking birds have travelled in from Scandinavia and northern Russia in search of berries.
"Normally we get small numbers in the UK, but a combination of a good breeding season and poor fruit harvest, along with the bitter cold at home has caused a mass migration into the UK this winter, where thousands are now present. They move in flocks searching for berries, and once the berries have been stripped off the trees, they move on."
The photograph above, depicting one of the resident waxwings with a berry in its beak, was taken by Dr Fellowes.