Thursday November 17

Although I have not really seen a lot around the garden and its immediate environs since my last posting, I find I do have things to talk about.

Firstly, for the first time since the 2012/2013 winter, it is shaping up to be a Waxwing winter. This extremely attractive migrant from the taiga zone of northern Scandinavia and Russia is an irruptive migrant. This basically means that most years there are hardly any in the UK, but in some winters they turn up in their thousands.

For a suburban patch like this one, Waxwings have the added attraction that they actually seek out ornamental trees in towns, so for example, while I saw them around Winyates East (one even in our apple tree) in both of the last two influxes, I have never seen one at my other patch, the more rural Morton Bagot (although someone did see a flock of 15 there in January 2011).

Anyway, we planted an ornamental rowan in our front garden with Waxwings in mind shortly after we moved in. This winter it looks particularly splendid.

Waxwing bait?

Sadly there was a flaw in our thinking.

The berries on the tree evidently become ripe enough to eat by around the end of November, and each year we are treated to the sight of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, and the occasional Redwing stripping the lot by mid December. The problem is that Waxwings basically eat their way across the country after they first arrive at the end of October, so right now there are hoards in Scotland, stacks in north-east England, a few in the east Midlands, and today one in north Warwickshire. None at all in Worcestershire yet.

So the chances are that by the time Waxwings set foot in the county, our berries will be gone.

But fingers crossed eh.

Changing the subject, I feel I need an incentive to wander around the neighbouring streets, binoculars and camera in hand, no doubt alarming the residents. What I need is a list, oh yes. So I have entered East Redditch into Patchwork Challenge 2017. I find I can just about get Arrow Valley Lake and Ipsley Alders Nature Reserve into the three square kilometres you are allowed.

Changing the subject again. I actually saw a moth the other week, November 10. Admittedly it was just a house moth, or to be more precise a White-shouldered House Moth. The books say they are very common and live on detritus. I obviously need to do a bit more vacuuming.

White-shouldered House Moth - Endrosis sarcitrella

Good one for the moth list.

Now there's an idea.