This past week, I went for a short family trip to Poland. Was there supposed to be any birding there? Well, no. Were there birds? Absolutely!
Time was limited for birding, but I did my best and fit a few outings to find some birds. Good thing was, we had one new camera that we needed to test in a real life scenario, so it was a perfect pretense to go out and find one specific species – Bohemian Waxwing! In Croatia, they are rare, with the last record from 2013. Last winter season was promising for the Waxwings, they moved fairly south compared to some other years, and this season is even colder and the number of sightings in Central Europe is even bigger than last year. The conditions are perfect for a move south, if the north freezes severely, and the temperatures in some parts of Central and Northern Europe in the next several days are looking promising for that! But, that’s all speculation, and instead of hope and what ifs, I went to a location where they were spotted just a couple of days prior.
Birds do move and can be really nomadic during winter, but this proved to not be the case here! After arriving to the location, and finding some interesting species, such as Common Treecreeper, Syrian Woodpecker and Bullfinches, I spotted them in a tree covered in mistletoe! Now, you’ll forgive me for only estimating and not actually counting them, but it was -15°C and I was to mesmerized with them to remember counting them and writing the exact number.
Would you like to see them too? Check out the new YouTube video, out now, just by clicking the image above! Have YOU seen Waxwings before? Let me know!
See you in the field!
