.........Snowdrops Galanthus usually have the stage to themselves,
but this year they are sharing a platform with other Spring plants who are also well through the ground.
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Snowdrops bravely face whatever weather is thrown at them, be it cold winds, rain, frost or being completely covered in snow.
The striking whiteness of their flowers together with the finely etched vivid green markings are delightful features found on most of the 19 species of snowdrops. I think that I can safely say that those of us who live in this northern hemisphere eagerly look forward to the Snowdrops arrival, particular now, when the celestial sphere is near its lowest point for us.
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Deep sleeps the Winter,
Cold, Wet, and grey;
Surely all the world is dead;
Spring is far away.
Wait! the world shall waken;
it is not dead, for lo,
The Fair maids of February
Stand in the snow!
Cicely Mary Barker
These attractive Bohemian Waxwings - Bombycilla garrulus have been delighting us for the past few days. A very large flock of them have been feasting on the glut of hawthorn berries found on the land surrounding our home. Word of these lovely birds arrival appeared to travel quickly and an influx of "twitchers" turned up armed with long lenses.
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Rather like the Short-eared Owls that recently arrived here in large numbers from Scandinavia, more Waxwings than usual have also travelled here seeking food. .png)
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Very pretty birds!
ReplyDeleteThey are a joy to see William.
DeleteWhat beautiful birds are the Bohemian Waxwings, and how attractive they are beside the Hawthorn berries. I wonder how far they have come to visit you. The snowdrops are so lovely (I have never seen one in reality) forming a white carpet in the woods. The two poems sum it up so well.
ReplyDeleteThey have travelled here from Scandinavia Patrica - berries are very plentiful here this winter but 50 Waxwings can very quickly demolish a bush full of them.
DeleteIt will be a while before we see Snowdrops here, but it will be joyous when we do. Bohemian Waxwings are a rarity in southern Ontario, but their cousins, Cedar Waxwings, are common. Wonderful birds - but then again, aren’t all birds?
ReplyDeleteIt was a real delight to see so many of them enjoying the berries David.
DeleteA beautiful tribute to snowdrops and wow, some great photos of the waxwings!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debra.
DeleteHello Rosemary, In Ohio, snowdrops are made of snow. You are spoiled, demanding and getting flowers in winter. Usually there are no reliable wildflowers until about April, unless you count things like skunk cabbage (I do), or a little later, the yellow coltsfoot flowers. But still, nothing in January! I am not always a bird fancier, but I would like to see those Bohemian Waxwings. I enjoyed all your pictures today.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Hello Jim - I like skunk cabbage and tried to grow it once, but with no luck. Our ground is too dry which sounds unbelievable with all of our rain. However, living high up on a hill the water drains quickly away down into the valley.
DeleteThey do have splendid plumage! Your photos are beautiful! We get large flocks of Cedar Waxwings in the crabapple trees over here. And the Snowdrops are eagerly anticipated here, but in our climate they rarely bloom before March. They stick their noses above ground but wait and wait.... I wonder what actually tells them to open? The ground temperature? We are quite frozen still.
ReplyDeleteYou have lots to look forward to Daydreamer once your ground temperature warms up.
DeleteI'm jealous! Great waxwing photos and a lovely post. I've seen waxwings and jays on walks but getting close to them outdoors is really hard without staying still for hours at a time or in a hide.
ReplyDeleteThey have been delighting people around here for the past three days, but I think that they may have moved on elsewhere now - one of those once seen never forgotten moments.
DeleteI see Jays most days as we have a permanent pair living in the trees around here.
Your photos of the snowdrops make me wish for a snowdrop woodland to visit - my galanthus leaves are only just peeping through so will be a while. The waxwings are really stunning, such elegant birds, sadly we seldom see the cedar waxwings here. Cicely Mary Barker's flower fairies are a favorite of mine too.
ReplyDeleteHappy week dear Rosemary.
Dear Mary - we have 5 Nationally known snowdrop gardens on our doorstep. One of the gardens has 350 varieties of snowdrop spread across 10 acres. Another has over 5million flowers growing through a dell and into a beautiful ancient wood. I don't know quite why we have so many, but they certainly tend to thrive really well here.
DeleteI really loved Cicely Mary Barker's book as a child, and still admire her work today.
Take care & look after yourself.
Dear Rosemary, I am stunned that you already have snow drops all around!
ReplyDeleteHere only the experienced eye can detect little blue-green spikes struggling through the hard frosted soil.
And those waxwings are so beautiful I never saw one! So there are birds which eat hawthorn berries - here the berries sit on the trees and nobody picks them, neither bird nor man. (As a child I once did it, because elders told me that they had to eat them in War time - I found them mealy and not very interesting, so never tried again; but I know that in medicine they are useful for the heart. )
When I look long at the waxing birds I think that they just look as disappointed from the taste of Hawthorne as I might have looked.
Though I am an ardent admirer of Daniel Hawthorne. and of course of your beautiful photos!
It is the very first time that I have seen such a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings Britta - it is something that will stay with me forever. You are wrong about the Hawthorn berries Britta - they eagerly stripped a bush bare in no time at all. They also love Rowan berries and the little berries found on Cotoneasters.
DeleteI didn't doubt that those beautiful birds don't eat the Hawthorne berries, - I only noticed that in Germany no animal eats them :-) (we are never visited by those fine waxwings)
DeleteDear Britta - I believe that the Waxwings fly across the North Sea to us.
DeleteA beautiful set of photos. Snowdrops and waxwings. Perfection. B x
ReplyDeleteI was such a great pleasure to have the opportunity of seeing so many beautiful Waxwings.
DeleteJust look at those lovely snowdrops! I do love seeing them early in January. The Bohemian Waxwings are beautiful birds with their soft colouring and interesting head decorations.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful birds and have longed to catch a good sight of them for a very long time.
DeleteBeautiful bird and lovely photo of it too Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteThe bulbs are beautiful and do look a picture.
Thanks Margaret glad you enjoyed.
DeleteAlways a joy to see snowdrops.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the poems on your post.
Such beautiful birds too.
All the best Jan
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DeleteYour photos, dear Rosemary, are exquisite! Such a beautiful post to greet my eyes on a sultry summer morning.
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you Pip and hope all is well with you - although unusually mild for this time of year, I would still be more than happy to receive some of your heat.
DeleteYour posts ALWAYS lift my spirits Rosemary. It will be a month before I see snowdrops in my garden. Can't wait to see what else is blooming in your garden. Beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteIt lifts my spirits to hear from you Gina, you are often in my thoughts.
DeleteWe were out today and saw our first clump of fully opened daffodils.
Beautiful photos. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteDear Rosemary – I’m slowly back to blogging. I have only one place in Kyoto where I can see snowdrops in large masses but I haven’t made it yet this year. Your telephoto-lens photos are superb like the Short-eared Owl last year. Bohemian Waxwing is distinctively beautiful. I especially love the second one of the four.
ReplyDeleteYoko
Lovely to see you back Yoko - the Bohemian Waxwings have been delighting us all, they stayed around for nearly two weeks. I have only seen them once before, but not in such large numbers.
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