The last couple of days have seen me attending to none wildlife matters.  With the birth of my second Granddaughter  on Thursday I spent most of Saturday doing what any grandfather would do.  Then today we have been Christmas visiting.  However, a quick check around the net has confirmed the presence of the Alphington Waxwing (just the one now), still in Chantry Meadow today.  As well, there have been reports of a few other birds in other parts of the county. I notice that Torbay Hospital car park has got some and security are telling people not to use their cameras…… is that really necessary or am I just totally out of touch?

Telling the age of Waxwings appears to be quite  easy and it seems that, as yet, I haven't seen an adult! Adults are much more extravagantly marked on the wings, with yellow markings, as well as white and the white marks on each primary feather extends across each feather to form a crescent whereas in a first year bird these wing markings stay on the leading edge of the feather only. Young birds do have however, the waxy red protuberances. Also males have a very broad yellow tail band and a very clearly defined bib which is less distinct in a female.  When I see more, I will definitely be looking closer with a view to ageing and sexing them.