Waxwing, Wren and Dunnock

Waxwing (Bohemian Waxwing) Bombycilla garrulous

Waxwings are strikingly beautiful birds that nest in the remote taiga zone of Scandinavia across to Siberia. In winter they feed almost exclusively on red berries, particularly rowan, and very small numbers visit Britain each year. In years when the berries become exhausted in their usual winter quarters, however, large numbers of Waxwings can invade Britain from the east. During such invasions Waxwings are often found in built-up areas where ornamental trees and shrubs still bear fruit. Coming from the far north, the birds can often be extremely tame. The recorded occurrences of Waxwings in the Hull area are as follows: 1921: Four at Sutton on 21^st November.

1946/7: A big invasion winter. The first to arrive was a large flock on Holderness Road in late November, growing to 100 birds by 15^th December when another 30 were in Tweendykes gardens. The Holderness Road flock decreased to 56 by New Years Eve, but 30 were in nearby James Reckitt Avenue the same day. The last was on Holderness Road on 15^th March.

1951: One fell down the chimney of G. H. Ainsworth's house in Gillshill Road, near East Park, on 5^th February. It was released unharmed after Ainsworth had ringed it.

1957: Single figures in Hull in February, a poor showing for a national invasion winter.

1958: Three near Sutton on 13^th December, another invasion winter.

1965/6: Another big invasion winter, and one of the best ever in the Hull area. 50 were "near Hull" and 300 were near Kirk Ella on 14^th November, with birds being "common" well into the New Year.

1966: One was on Holderness Road on Boxing Day.

1970: Another invasion year, with 45 in Hull in November.

1971: 16 were at Kirk Ella on 21^st December.

1977: One was in Kerry Drive, Kirk Ella on 9^th January.

1979: Five were down National Avenue, West Hull, between 25^th January and 11^th February.

1982: One in Hull from 2^nd to 3^rd March.

1985: One at Stoneferry on 18^th January.

1985/6: Another irruption winter, starting with one on Carr Lane in Willerby from 8^th to 27^th November and three west past King George Dock on 19^th November. Singles made brief appearances in Chanterlands Avenue and Spring Bank in January.

1987: One on Staveley Road, East Hull, on 7^th March.

1988: Three in the Old Main Drain hedgerow, North Bransholme, on 26^th November, with one to two again in mid December.

1989: Four on the Old Main Drain hedgerow, North Bransholme, in November.

1990: 30 at Hessle on 27^th January.

1990/1: Another good winter around Hull, with 18 in Bricknell Avenue on 19^th November and six the following day. Up to 30 in Anlaby at the end of January and into February, when 13 were also in First Lane in Hessle.

1991/2: An even better winter than the last, starting with 25 in West Hull on 27^th December before 10 on Bricknell Avenue in January. Eighty were near the Kingston General Hospital, Beverley Road, from January to March.

1994: A group of 11 in Park Avenue, near Pearson Park, on 21^st April were the latest spring Waxwings recorded in the Hull area.

1996: A record invasion in the UK during the early months of the year and Hull saw its fair share of birds. The first were six in Kerry Drive (Kirk Ella) on 7^th January, with two off Priory Road on 10^th and three on 13^th. A flock of 50 was in the Avenues area of Hull throughout much of January and into February. Another 35 were on the Pickhills hawthorns, at the north end of Priory Road, in February.

1997: One in East Park on 3^rd January was the first of a good late winter period. Three were at the Holderness Drain on Holderness Road a few days later and up to four were in Bricknell Avenue, West Hull, the same week. 20 were back on Holderness Road on 14^th March with the last of the winter being four on Sutton Fields Industrial Estate on 25^th.

1997/8: A well-watched bird was feeding in a tree outside the Brazil Street Post Office, at the town-end of Holderness Road, in December. Two were on berries near the Park Avenue Adult Education centre on 2^nd February.

1999/2000: Another good winter and probably the best documented irruption in the Hull area, with small flocks being widespread. The first were three in Willerby on 11^th November, followed by 10 at the junction of Staveley Road and Diadem Grove (at the far end of Holderness Road) three days later. Two appeared on Sutton Road on 21^st November and 18 spent the following week down First Lane, Anlaby. Birds then disappeared for a while until 14 arrived on Brindley Street, Holderness Road, in mid December. Ten on Diadem Grove on 21^st coincided with two near Ennerdale Sports centre and one at Bransholme Police Station. Another was on Sutton Road the next day. Two were on the shrubs outside Britannia House on the Beverley Road/Spring Bank junction in the city centre on 3^rd January. Nine turned up at Victoria Dock two days later and 10 were in the Vane Street playground, at the town-end on Spring Bank, a week later. The Vane Street flock remained until at least 8^th March, ranging from five to 11 in number.

2000/01. A single bird at Hedon on Christmas Day 2000 heralded what was to become another great irruption winter in the Hull area and across Britain. Eight were in the Safeway car park in Willerby on 29^th December. Twelve were present the next day and a further 28 arrived on Chamberlain Road, East Hull. Another three were on Beverley Road the same day. The Willerby flock grew to 15 on New Years Eve and several flocks totalling around 50 birds were present in the Hull area, on and off, from January until late March. Peak counts in any one place were 46 in the Avenues, 35 on Hedon Road, 19 in Anlaby, 53 in Kirk Ella, 14 at Victoria Dock, 16 off Holderness Road, 21 in Vane Street, six in Willerby, 30 on Boothferry Road, three on the County, Salthouse and Beverley Roads and eight over Leads Road.

Waxwings can therefore turn up almost anywhere in the Hull area, wherever berries are available. Birds are much more likely during invasion years, usually arriving between mid November and January and maybe staying until late March, though numbers are very variable.

Wren (Winter Wren) Troglodytes troglodytes

The Wren is one of Britain's smallest birds and is often the most common, except when harsh winters severely reduce their numbers. Such a winter drastically cut numbers in Hull in 1941, and Wrens were scarce throughout the area for some time afterwards. Boylan (1967) only regarded the Wren as a regular, occasionally uncommon, breeding bird in the old Hull boundary during the first half of the 1960s. This apparent underestimate of the population of one of our most common birds may have been due to the impact of the severe 1962 winter. By the mid 1980s the Wren was described as a common breeder around Cottingham and northwest Hull. At least 10 pairs were also nesting around Saltend. From the late 1980s onwards I found the Wren to be a common bird along the hedgerows and copses east of North Bransholme. I regularly counted between five and 10 birds there on my regular circuit between Old Main Drain and the Holderness Drain. A small peak was apparent in spring as the males become more noticeable while belting out their rapid, powerful songs. Birds often became unobtrusive in midsummer, though I found many nests in the old hawthorns, while the greatest numbers were noted between October and December when the population was at a high. I recorded no less than 20 Wrens at North Bransholme on 19^th December 1989, but counts always reached a minimum around February as winter took its toll. A study of the birds on the Priory Road fields, between Willerby and Cottingham, in 1996 revealed a similar pattern to that observed at North Bransholme, although maximum counts only involved six birds. A survey of wildlife in the Avenues area of Hull in the same year found Wrens to be present in most gardens and areas of scrub and brambles. Several pairs breed at the Hedon Road Cemetery, where the species is described as being very common, and the city centre also has a few birds. There can be virtually no modest area of scrub, tangled vegetation, ivy or shrubbery that is not regularly visited by a Wren in its endless quest for spiders and insects.

Dunnock (Hedge Accentor) Prunella modularis

Still known to many as the Hedge Sparrow, the Dunnock is one of our most common and successful birds. They can be found in urban, suburban and rural areas alike, setting up home among any scrap of shrubbery or patch of bushes. Dunnocks penetrate right into the city centre, although their unobtrusive nature means that they are often overlooked. Regarded by many as a rather boring grey-brown bird that shuffles about below bird tables and under shrubs, the low profile belies an extraordinary sex life. Monogamous pairs are something of a rarity amongst Dunnocks and each bird, of either sex, may have several breeding partners at any one time. Dunnocks have always been common in Hull, being noted as a frequent visitor and breeding bird in gardens around Pearson Park as early as 1901. In 1967 Boylan described the Dunnock as a "very common garden bird" in Hull but they were no doubt just as common in all other bushy habitats in the city. Five pairs were nesting in Northern Cemetery alone at that time. Regarded as an abundant breeding and resident species in the Cottingham area in the 1980s, up to 45 males were singing around Saltend and the docks around the same time. Another 10 or so males were present to the east of North Bransholme during the 1990s. Common throughout the Avenues area in the mid 1990s, around a dozen territories were found between Wood Lane and Hull Road to the south of Cottingham in 1996 and several pairs were breeding at Hedon Road Cemetery in recent years. Recent comments regarding status from all parts of the Hull area equate to "very common". As well as being an abundant resident and breeding species, the Dunnock is also an autumn passage migrant. Peak numbers are often observed between September and November when large numbers of Continental immigrants arrive and the population of our local birds is at a maximum. Dunnocks seem to become more prominent again from late March and into May as the males emerge from the undergrowth to trickle out their song, which is often compared to the sound of a squeaky wheel on a shopping trolley. In 1908 and 1909 a pair of Dunnocks reared a single white youngster each summer at Kirk Ella but Dunnocks seldom draw such attention to themselves at that time of year. Once the twiggy nests of moss and coarse grass, with their clutch of clear blue eggs, is established low in some thicket the birds largely melt away once more until the autumn.

Dunnocks will readily come to food provided by people, but in November 2000 I spotted five of them in one of the larger aviaries in East Park. The birds seemed fine, with plenty of food, water and shrubs to hide in, but there was no obvious escape route for them and I was left wondering if they had become trapped after finding their way in through some hole that had since been repaired. For five to get trapped at once seemed a little strange, too, so perhaps it started off as two and the rest were bred in there?