Steve Arlow
Well-known member
80+ in Rayleigh
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The Essex Winter Waxwing Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter The sniper
- Start date
Do you have one of them pagers? you and Steve Arlow seem lucky in seeing the large flocks all round here I've been hunting for them all over and finally saw them while sat in my front room, i count myself very lucky to finally get to see them.
What time of day are they there? as i'm still after some better photos as they were only in my tree for about 2 mins and 1 min of that i was scrabbling for my camera bag in panic mode lol
The sniper
Well-known member
Gazzno,maybe try to join the yahoo essex site,some observers post almost immediately,although this isn't as frequent as it used to be with their new way of reporting through the website,which luckily some people ignore for the more unusual sightings.
Other than that,twitter can be a good place,there is an actual account for waxwing sightings but not really sure how good it is locally as its uk based.
Other than that,birdguides or similar services are worth a try,you do have to pay to get the best but its not expensive although you can do it for free,you tend not to get the best out of a decent service
Saying all that,I do think that there are ways in which the county birding scene could be improved as to getting the word out,its ok if you are in the know and have a network of birders to rely on which many of us have but for others its a bit different.The pager,while still being used,is surely a thing of the past with all the technology around I don't actually know too many birders etc who use it any more
Other than that,twitter can be a good place,there is an actual account for waxwing sightings but not really sure how good it is locally as its uk based.
Other than that,birdguides or similar services are worth a try,you do have to pay to get the best but its not expensive although you can do it for free,you tend not to get the best out of a decent service
Saying all that,I do think that there are ways in which the county birding scene could be improved as to getting the word out,its ok if you are in the know and have a network of birders to rely on which many of us have but for others its a bit different.The pager,while still being used,is surely a thing of the past with all the technology around I don't actually know too many birders etc who use it any more
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Thanks mate, when i saw them on Thursday i posted straight away so anyone who was local had the chance to see them aswell, thats what put me off bird watching when i was in my early 20's people use to be so secretive about the good places to go.
now you have a lot more dedicated reserves and sites like this plus i've been lucky enough to travel through the UK & Europe and had the time to find things myself (which i share) the only downside is my ID skills ain't that good so if i did see something rare I wouldn't know till some one told me later lol
I will look at those other sites but am still curious what Dave & Steves secret to success is?
I can vouch for how quick Waxwings are there and then gone when looking for food or perhaps they realised they were in Pitsea and were scared of getting mugged lol
Sharp Shin
Stewart Belfield
Waxwings in Rowhedge
For the second day running a medium-sized flock of Waxwings are feeding on berries in the front garden of the house next to the Albion pub, on the waterfront at Rowhedge. I counted 25 when I was there at 10.30 this morning. If you don't see them on the berries, look up - they'll probably be on the TV aerial. There are plenty of berries on the bush, so they may stay for a day or two more.
There have been a number of reports in recent days of Waxwing flocks roaming Colchester (Creffield Road, Stanway Rd, etc.), but the Rowhedge birds are the first that I've caught up with. I have a hunch that flocks become more mobile as the winter progresses - perhaps due to a reduction in the quantity and quality of available berries. This mobility often means that visits to reported flocks prove abortive. Is this the experience of others?
PS - Rowhedge is having a bit of a purple patch at the moment, with the Black Redstart still present around the corner in the old dock area.
For the second day running a medium-sized flock of Waxwings are feeding on berries in the front garden of the house next to the Albion pub, on the waterfront at Rowhedge. I counted 25 when I was there at 10.30 this morning. If you don't see them on the berries, look up - they'll probably be on the TV aerial. There are plenty of berries on the bush, so they may stay for a day or two more.
There have been a number of reports in recent days of Waxwing flocks roaming Colchester (Creffield Road, Stanway Rd, etc.), but the Rowhedge birds are the first that I've caught up with. I have a hunch that flocks become more mobile as the winter progresses - perhaps due to a reduction in the quantity and quality of available berries. This mobility often means that visits to reported flocks prove abortive. Is this the experience of others?
PS - Rowhedge is having a bit of a purple patch at the moment, with the Black Redstart still present around the corner in the old dock area.
The sniper
Well-known member
5 at warley today
Steve Arlow
Well-known member
Pagers are still widely used by birders, probably as much as they ever have been as they have bigger capacity for alerting birders instantly to news they want and will have a more reliable connection to the network than 3G, and yes I have one and refer to it more than any other news service for rares and scarcities as it gives a good picture of these birds movements and regional increases.
I also have a smart phone so receive emails when posted on the Essex Yahoo Group or on the Essex Birdwatching Site, I get the messages often minutes after the news has been phoned in or passed via Twitter.
Unfortunately many of the Waxwing sightings I posted i did not see myself but just passing on the information.
I also have a smart phone so receive emails when posted on the Essex Yahoo Group or on the Essex Birdwatching Site, I get the messages often minutes after the news has been phoned in or passed via Twitter.
Unfortunately many of the Waxwing sightings I posted i did not see myself but just passing on the information.
The sniper
Well-known member
Really Steve,I haven't seen anyone with a pager for ages,not sure I actually know anyone with one anymore,they were widespread when I started birding but just don't seem to see them of late.Maybe its just me but whenever I have been somewhere and news of a bird had come in it has come from birdguides or another service through someone's phone,although as you say,3G isn't always reliable,I have problems at a lot of coastal sites in all honesty with 3G but usually you get some sort of connection however slow it may be.
Steve Arlow
Well-known member
Three members of SOG alone have pagers and I know of numerous others, at least 12 pagers at least noted by visiting birders at the Sussex Boneparte's Gull today, some bleeping every message, some not.
Mine is on vibrate or silent except for mega alert.
If you go to a newly found rarity then you'll appreciate how many there are out there. With the inconsistency in 3G pagers still give better instant news whilst Birdguides is pretty unreliable, many dubious reports have come from there over the years.
Those that want instant news on a major bird when it breaks will have a pager as it is still 80% there with the news first.
Mine is on vibrate or silent except for mega alert.
If you go to a newly found rarity then you'll appreciate how many there are out there. With the inconsistency in 3G pagers still give better instant news whilst Birdguides is pretty unreliable, many dubious reports have come from there over the years.
Those that want instant news on a major bird when it breaks will have a pager as it is still 80% there with the news first.
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The sniper
Well-known member
Yeah I suppose me not really being a twitcher as such,then I probably miss that side of it.
How much are pagers and the subscriptions etc,not too sure I really need one as I tend not to go off at the spur of the moment but saying that I did say I was going to twitch a bit more gradually this year and years after so it cold be a tool worth having.
At the moment I take my I pad/I phone with me which has twitter,bird forum,birdguides subscriptions etc on them but as I said,not much use if I am on the beach at Titchwell or cley and a rarity pops up 5 miles down the coast
How much are pagers and the subscriptions etc,not too sure I really need one as I tend not to go off at the spur of the moment but saying that I did say I was going to twitch a bit more gradually this year and years after so it cold be a tool worth having.
At the moment I take my I pad/I phone with me which has twitter,bird forum,birdguides subscriptions etc on them but as I said,not much use if I am on the beach at Titchwell or cley and a rarity pops up 5 miles down the coast
Steve Arlow
Well-known member
The RBA pagers vary in subscription depending on what package you go for. The most comprehensive covers Megas, Breaking news on BBRC rarities, Rarities only updates and I think 6 local channels. You can have the choice of any of the local channels by selection on the pager so you could have regular areas such a Kent, Sussex, Surrey being one local channel, London, Essex, Herts as another, Norfolk and Suffolk etc as another. You're not tied to each channel so if you go to Cornwall for instance you can switch off one and switch that one on so you get to know about locally interesting birds. This package cost £22 a month with a yearly fee of £30.
There are levels going down the scale to say just 1 local channel and rarities only but you would need to look at the RBA website to get the prices for that.
There are levels going down the scale to say just 1 local channel and rarities only but you would need to look at the RBA website to get the prices for that.
The sniper
Well-known member
Cheers Steve
Thanks for the reply (and for the updates, much appreciated) i think i will check out the pagers at the next bird fair i did know pagers have a better network coverage than mobiles like at minsmere you get poor mobile coverage untill close to the sea which means if there was an unusual sighting in land it would be difficult to pass on or receive info to help or inform others.
On top of the yearly fee, can you pick what months you want to subscribe to the higher notifications? as it would be a waste of money (and very annoying) if your stuck in work and getting messages.
Steve Arlow
Well-known member
No you wont be able to do it on a monthly basis as you will have to return the pager for that time you wouldn't want to use it for and pay a £30 annual fee each time you pick up again. You could however through the peak months have all services so you get the widest coverage and arrange for a reduced coverage during the off peak months thus reducing the costs, if you ring RBA they would be able to give you more information or if you wait until the Birdfair then you should get some update details and see the pagers used.
Many birders use their pagers for more than instant news on Rarities as it can also provide details of when influxes are occuring, say you've got local channels for the east coast you will start to notice if there is an increase in Yellow-browed Warbler or Wryneck reports for example which could then drive your birding day to areas where you could potentially find your own.
Likewise reports of seabirds down the east coast could mean a visit to Canvey to look for skuas and shearwaters.
There is the RBA rare bird APP for smart phones but you will be limited to your phones signal and in some instances lack of it.
Many birders use their pagers for more than instant news on Rarities as it can also provide details of when influxes are occuring, say you've got local channels for the east coast you will start to notice if there is an increase in Yellow-browed Warbler or Wryneck reports for example which could then drive your birding day to areas where you could potentially find your own.
Likewise reports of seabirds down the east coast could mean a visit to Canvey to look for skuas and shearwaters.
There is the RBA rare bird APP for smart phones but you will be limited to your phones signal and in some instances lack of it.
Viv Connett
Well-known member
For the last couple of days there has been a small flock in Witham along Maldon Road between Maltings Lane and the next road down which I think is Lawrence Avenue. About 10 birds - great to see first thing in the morning, they were there again in the fog today!
auchinbowie
Well-known member
Viv,
Could be the same flock, I saw above Blue Mills Bridge half an hour ago. There are plenty of berries on the Hawthorn in the area. I was driving in traffic and could not stop. I reported 7+ on the EBS website. I notice that there are still plenty around -- 38 reported SW of Colchester yesterday.
Could be the same flock, I saw above Blue Mills Bridge half an hour ago. There are plenty of berries on the Hawthorn in the area. I was driving in traffic and could not stop. I reported 7+ on the EBS website. I notice that there are still plenty around -- 38 reported SW of Colchester yesterday.
Viv Connett
Well-known member
I had the same thought when I saw the report!
