I was just leaving the house to take the girls to the park, when news arrived that the pink wave had finally broken in Oxford: there were Waxwings on the Marston Road. It was entirely expected, Waxwings had been reported from as nearby as Crowmarsh Gifford and Banbury in the last few days. But they had taken their time this year, holding back in the north and east, waiting until the days were just about increasing in length before penetrating into central England. I threw the optics and camera into the car and explained to my children that we were going to see Waxwings on the way to the park, without really working out how I would look after and 5 and 7 year old, whilst trying to see Waxwings, a habit that often seems to involve some hanging about. As it turned out, the 6 Waxwings were feeding on the berry tree opposite number 285 Marston Road as we pulled up, enabling the girls to see these lovely birds and me to attempt to murder some photographs in the late afternoon gloom:
Then, after all of 30 seconds of viewing, a jogger ran past the tree, flushing the flock, just as Pete and Mrs Roby and John Reynolds turned up. My girls then suggested that we should hold up berries to attract the Waxwings, a tactic that has worked for them with flowers and butterflies, but one that I gently suggested probably would not work with Waxwings: you have to be on Fair Isle for that level of approachability. 
Despite their efforts, the birds remained in the area, perching in tree tops in Haberton Mead and Jack Straws Lane, but only made a couple of brief visits back to their berry tree. I last saw the flock flying up the hill towards Jack Straws Lane at about 15:30, so still in the vicinity. I would expect more birds to turn up in Oxford over the next few weeks as the pink hordes continue moving south and west. Which means that every single trip to the shops becomes an opportunity to find a good local bird. That is the beauty of a Waxwing winter.
