Waxwings and polecats

At Tuesday night's meeting of AWEG, the Audlem Wildlife & Ecology Group, it was reported large numbers of waxwings are in the south Cheshire area.

These birds are rare in most years with only about a hundred or so visiting Britain. Then, occasionally, they arrive in large numbers from Scandanavia and northern Europe when berries are in short supply there. These are known as 'eruption years'

This appears to be one of those years. They will come into gardens and many birds have been seen clearly on berry trees even in the centre of the village in the past.

They can make quite a sight so it's well worth keeping an eye out. They are slightly smaller than a starling and have a prominent crest.

The group also heard about sightings of polecats. One, it was reported, even made its way into the Co-operative foodstore in the village – possibly heading for the chicken counter!

Did anyone witness this very unusual event? Do let Audlem Online know if you did. Even better, did anyone get a photograph! It happened, the meeting was told, a couple of months ago.

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