Waxwings strip the trees bare, in the glamorous location of Morrison’s supermarket car park, Stirling, Scotland.
Waxwings
Waxwings strip the trees bare, in the glamorous location of Morrison’s supermarket car park, Stirling, Scotland.
Tom Houslay 
Do you happen to know what kind of tree this is?
Hi Steve, I think it’s a rowan tree… although it could be hawthorn (I’m not entirely sure of the difference, and I think it’s harder to tell when there are no leaves to be seen!)
I asked because your tree reminded me of a species we have in Texas, Ilex decidua, whose small red fruits I’ve similarly seen devoured by cedar waxwings. Here’s the Texas tree:
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/possumhaw-on-the-last-day-of-2012/
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/color-on-an-overcast-day/
Very cool! I did see some cedar waxwings when I was in Canada over the summer… do you get them in huge numbers over there? We only get waxwings on the migration path, so hundreds of them blitz through and eat all the red berries in an area over a couple of days, then they’re off again! These trees are often in abundance in supermarket car parks, so in amongst those loading up groceries are people skulking around with binoculars and expensive cameras…!
Also, your 2012 photo retrospective is fantastic – I’m especially jealous of the lizard with the dewlap going, I didn’t manage to get a decent shot of that while I was on holiday in a very lizard-heavy Barbados!
Cedar waxwings usually come to Texas from the north when the weather gets cold there, and they stay here through the spring. I’ve seen them make quick work of a possumhaw covered with fruit.
I’m glad you liked my retrospective. One advantage of a warm climate is that I can take nature pictures most of the year. I lucked out with that lizard, which stayed put long enough with the light behind it for me to take a bunch of pictures. I’m sorry you weren’t as fortunate.