Bohemian waxwing flock

This is a video about Bohemian waxwings in the north of Leiden.

I had already blogged about Bohemian waxwings in Leiden in the Netherlands.

This morning, I was a bit further south: near the old university library. A flock of about thirty waxwings flew to a tree opposite the entrance; in formation, a bit like starling flocks. Then, they sat down.

However, before my binoculars were ready, they flew away again, to the other side of the canal and further.

When I came back minutes later, just a blue tit in that tree.

However, I read that the waxwings returned later.

So, I returned there in the afternoon. I did not see the flock. As I went back, I was stopped for questions (because of the binoculars around my neck) by a gentleman who had come all the way from Nijmegen for the waxwings. A few hundred meter further, a lady with two children from Leidschendam stopped me for the same reason.

Update: about 16:25, someone saw the waxwings near the castle hill in the city center.

November 201o. Nature lovers are waiting to see whether recent sightings of waxwings will turn into an influx this winter. The striking birds flood to the UK from Scandinavia every few winters but in between you would be lucky to see one at all. But in the coming weeks, you could see them much closer to home in places like supermarket car parks, shopping centres, local parks and RSPB nature reserves: here.

Bird experts have gathered a unique insight into the secret lives of starlings, one of the UK’s most intelligent and iridescent birds. By placing high definition and infrared cameras inside a starling roost, the experts have been able to watch how adult birds bully juveniles and how starlings struggle to keep warm: here.