Pete Greaves
A single Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus present on Boxing Day 1995 at Howell Wood proved a very popular attraction, providing probably the first opportunity for many Doncaster birders to see this species in the district. No-one at that time could have foreseen the exciting events that were about to unfold in early 1996, particularly in the late winter to early spring period, as birds began to move north after wintering in Britain.
Three at Blaxton GP on 17th January were the first of the year. A series of records from Southfield Res then followed, with five on 20th, one on 26th and seven flying N on 31st. Two were at Gringley Carr on 23rd January. A single was heard calling at Southfield Res on 1st February, after which attention then focussing on nearby Thorne/Moorends, where on 3rd-4th a single fed by the railway bridge to Thorne Colliery, and three flew over towards Thorne Moors on 3rd. Up to six were present on Ellison Street, Thorne, between 7th-10th, on cotoneaster Cotoneaster, with a single on Alexandra Street on 8th feeding with 1000 Fieldfares. The last record from Thorne concerned a lone bird flying over the Market Square on 14th February. Elsewhere, on 1st February, eight were present at Crookhill golf course, followed on 2nd by a flock of 15 at Thrybergh CP which was surprisingly the only record from this well-watched site. Wombwell bus depot and its environs also intermittently played host to this species, with five there on 4th and a single again on 18th. An idea of what was in store began to form on 11th at Arksey cemetery, when a remarkable flock of 60 was present, with numbers fluctuating subsequently: 30 on 12th, 53 on 13th, 44 on 14th-15th, 15 on 16th, two on 17th, seven on 19th, 22 on 21st and two on 25th. Sightings of 20 at Playfairs Corner, Bentley, on 15th, 28 at Watch House Lane and one at Bentley Road on 21st, one at Watch House Lane on 22nd, 20 at Hurst Lane on 24th and two in Bentley on 25th were presumably all part of the same mobile flocks. Fourteen at St Catherine’s Hospital, Balby, on 13th were thought to be different, as were two at Conisbrough on 21st, though one at Springwell Lane on 24th may have been one of the St Catherine’s birds. On 26th, three were at Potteric Carr and 16 at Newington, while on 27th February two flew over Edlington with Common Starlings.
A single was in Tickhill on 1st March, while 15 at Austerfield on 4th may well have been the Newington birds. Fourteen were in a Bessacarr garden on 6th, followed nearby on Bawtry Road by 35 on 18th and a staggering 101 between 19th-21st. A single was seen on the Wombwell by-pass on 10th, with the bus depot again being favoured by 39 on 17th and three on 24th, with three on the nearby canal bank on 18th. On the opposite side of the district, two were present at Askern Spa Junior School on 11th-12th, with 12 at Kirk Sandall on 14th, where on 30th, 42 were feeding. Eleven were at Hesley on 10th and next day Carr Hill recorded nine near Bridon works, with seven on 12th, 14 on 13th, 21 on 14th and one from 15th-19th. 120 were at Austerfield on 11th and 20 at Tyrham Hall GP from 11th March to the month end. Twenty in King’s Wood, Bawtry, on 15th (and 50 on 18th) may have been linked to the 60 seen on 16th in Bawtry behind Hudson haulage contractors, though 18 at Edlington on 14th were not obviously linked to any other groups. Seventy at Warning Tongue Lane, Bessacarr, on 20th, numbered 42 on 21st (with 52 nearby on 24th), and were undoubtedly part of the massive Bawtry Road flock. On 27th, 41 were in Warmsworth cemetery, with 35 on 28th and 15 on 29th, perhaps all part of the gatherings in Balby. Two were observed in Scawthorpe on 24th, with 27th seeing two on Lowell Avenue, Balby, to 29th, rising dramatically to 34 on 30th. In Edenthorpe, 35 on 28th may well have been linked to the birds in Kirk Sandall noted earlier in the month. Thirty-six here at 0700hrs the next day had increased to 82 by 1510hrs. Thirty-one at Doncaster Road, Dalton, on 24th had increased to 50 on 25th March
The Lowell Avenue flock had reduced to 20 on 2nd April and 15 on 5th, after which date they were not seen again, but they may well have been part of other flocks seen in the Balby area, such as five in Kwiksave car park on 5th, two there on 12th, and 43 in the Belvedere/Warde Avenue area on 9th. Two birds alighted briefly in Cantley on 5th before continuing N, and clearly were not part of the local flocks. Likewise, a single at Edlington Common on 15th. For the remainder of the month the bulk of sightings came from three areas, though there was a lot of movement between them: Gresley Road/Littlemoor Lane; the Railport at Hexthorpe, to near Doncaster Prison; and the St James’ flats/dual carriageway area. In the Gresley Road area, an abundance of firethorn Pyracantha, cotoneaster and hawthorn Crataegus attracted 51 on 7th, 41 on 8th, 24 on 9th, 42 on 10th, 60 on 11th, 54 on 12th, 53 on 14th, an incredible 210 on 16th, 45 on 18th, 54 on 19th, 41 on 20th, then only two on 24th. The Railport/Hexthorpe/canal area saw generally similar numbers following one on 8th April, 70 on 10th, 60 on 11th, 40 on 12th, 80 on 15th, 60 on 16th, 82 on 17th, with the last, 20 on 18th. In addition 40 were in the RFS railway yard on 11th and 44 by the Plant Hotel, Hexthorpe, on 15th.
However, all these paled into insignificance when on 9th April 250, and next day an unprecedented 500 were reported grounded in dull and misty weather conditions around St James’ flats - what a sight they must have been! As the weather improved large numbers moved on, but 200 remained in the early afternoon of 10th and 160 on 11th. Apart from 70 on 15th April, numbers remained in three figures, with 112 on 14th, 100 on 12th (roosting at St Francis Xavier’s Primary School), 160 on 13th, 100 on 17th and 104 on 19th. A marked improvement in the weather generally from 19th seemed to have signalled a departure and numbers declined rapidly thereafter. Elsewhere, 90 were at the junction of Bawtry Road/Sledgate Lane, Wickersley, on 16th, with three nearby on Churchfield Drive on 22nd. After these extraordinary events the last winter 1995-96 record was of a single bird flying over Broomhill Ings on 30th April.
To put the events into a national context, an estimated 10,000 Bohemian Waxwings visited the UK, mostly north and east of a line between London and Clwyd, though small numbers did penetrate to the south-western counties, with even Scilly being graced by a single bird. Large flocks were encountered around a number of conurbations, the 600 in Nottingham (which included Britain’s first Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum from North America) being amongst the largest, and possibly the source of the Doncaster influx. Regionally, up to 3000 were noted throughout Yorkshire, again including sizeable flocks in Sheffield and Leeds, and contributed to one of the largest influxes ever recorded - certainly the biggest invasion since that of 1965-66 when several flocks of 300 and 400 were present. Probably somewhere between 900-1350 birds were involved in the Doncaster influx. It is likely to be many years before such a spectacle is repeated.
In complete contrast the only record at the end of 1996 concerned a single flying S over Scawthorpe on 17th December.