Waxwings continued to attract the attention of pre-Christmas shoppers, and so long as berries remain will doubtless provide a welcome diversion for those tackling the high street sales this week. Waxwings get their Welsh name, Cynffon Sidan, from the silky appearance of their tail, and appropriately the closest relatives to these northern hemisphere birds are Silky Flycatchers from Central America. Their English name is derived from bright red extensions to the secondary feathers, displayed by both Bohemian Waxwings (to use the full name of our visitors) and by Cedar Waxwings that breed in North America. The red tips not only look like blobs of candle wax, they feel slightly waxy too. The length and number of waxy tips on the wings increase as the birds age.

Up to 50 Waxwings were around Aldi in Ruthin and 17 at B&M in Mold on Christmas Eve, with more than 30 on the outskirts of Rhuddlan and 14 in Old Colwyn on Saturday. A flock of 13 was in an Abergele garden last week, 10 in Tywyn on the Meirionnydd coast and others reported in Ty’n-y-groes in the Conwy Valley.

If you’re keen to get outside this week, recent sightings include a Cattle Egret at Greenfield, Firecrests at Morfa Aber and The Spinnies, a Twite among Linnets at Point of Ayr, and Whooper Swans in the Cefni Valley and from Porthmadog Cob. Nine Long-tailed Ducks are off Black Rock Sands, with others off Benllech and on Llyn Maelog. Great White Egrets were off Porthmadog Cob and near Saltney, and up to four Great Northern Divers on Anglesey’s Inland Sea.

There may be plenty of winter still to come, but Song Thrushes have started to sing as days lengthen, and I’ve noticed a few Fulmars checking out potential nest sites on cliffs and Rooks gathering at their communal colonies.

The new designs of coin from the Royal Mint will enter circulation in the coming weeks, each inspired by the natural world. Birds appear on the 10p and 20p, in the form of Capercaillie and Puffin, both birds at risk in the UK. Red Squirrel on the 2p and Atlantic Salmon on the 50p are among the other species featured. But while we all get to put some wildlife in our pocket, the most recent State of Nature report showed that UK spending on wildlife conservation has fallen by 24% in real terms over the last five years. That the UK spent just 0.031% of GDP on biodiversity in 2021/22 is hard to square with the nature and climate emergency declared by the Senedd in June 2021. This week’s Welsh Government budget will be pored over by farmers and conservationists, keen to see how funding matches the needs of nature.

Waxwings continued to draw crowds this week, with 38 still in Llysfaen and seven in Rhuddlan, but a dozen in Holywell were seen only briefly. A Ring-necked Duck has returned to Llyn Tegid for another winter, arriving with three Scaup. Two Slavonian Grebes are off Llanddulas, with others off Benllech and in the Menai Strait off Church Island. Cattle Egrets remain in Anglesey’s Cefni Valley, with two at RSPB Cors Ddyga, while a group of White-fronted Geese here may be the flock from Greenland that winters on Anglesey.

A Bewick’s Swan fitted with a satellite-tag in The Netherlands paid a night-time visit to North Wales recently. It flew across South Wales to Co.Wexford in Ireland on 30 November. but two days later followed the coast north to Dublin and crossed the Irish Sea after dark on 2 December. He paused in the Cymryan Strait, between Holy Island and Anglesey, for just an hour after midnight before flying across Liverpool Bay and up the Mersey valley. See the map, shared by Dutch PhD student Hans Linssen on X (formerly Twitter), here. It is more than a decade since a Bewick’s Swan was seen on Anglesey, and in some winters none is seen in Wales, as the Russian population now winters farther east as the climate has warmed.

A farmer in Cwm Prysor, the hills east of Trawsfynydd, filmed a subadult White-tailed Eagle last week, which was seen again at the weekend from the main road to Bala. It has no identifiable marks and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation has confirmed that it was not a satellite-tagged bird released in southern England, where a pair last summer fledged the first English chick for 240 years.

The bird seen above Llyn Celyn is assumed to have originated from either Scotland or a reintroduced population in Ireland. The last breeding pair of White-tailed Eagles in Wales was probably a pair at Nefyn in 1880, and there have been only a handful of Welsh records in the last century. Young eagles roam widely, and it is quite likely that another farmer or a walker will be the next person to see this one. Identification is fairly straightforward given a good view, with its large size (a female’s wingspan is more than two metres, almost twice that of a Buzzard) and parallel-sided wings that earned it the nickname “flying barn door”. That reputedly was the wry observation of a crofter on Fair Isle, where a reintroduction attempt was made in the late 1960s.

Elsewhere, a pale-cheeked American Wigeon was relocated on the Cefni estuary, downstream from its initial location several weeks ago, and a Long-tailed Duck remains at Glan-y-môr Elias near Llanfairfechan. Three Slavonian Grebes are in the Menai Strait off Aber Ogwen and another three in Anglesey’s Beddmanarch Bay. The Waxwing flock remained throughout the week in Llysfaen, numbering 40 on Monday, when a flock of 20 was found on Denbigh Road in Rhuthun. Two or three Firecrests are at Llyn Parc Mawr, a vocal Siberian Chiffchaff at RSPB Conwy and a Hoopoe was reported between Bangor and Caernarfon on Sunday.

It looks set to be the biggest winter for Waxwings in Wales for seven years, as more flocks of the Starling-size songbirds were spotted across the region. Near Colwyn Bay, last week’s small flock at Llysfaen grew each day and topped out at 55 on Sunday. Originating from Scandinavia, their trilling call has also been heard around berry-laden trees in Colwyn Bay, Llanddulas, Gronant, Bethesda, between Ruabon and Chirk, and at Hope, near Wrexham. More flocks are in north Powys. With plenty of Hawthorn berries still in the hedgerows, there is every chance of greater numbers visiting North Wales.

An impressive nine Long-tailed Ducks were with a Velvet Scoter off Black Rock Sands at the weekend, and another Long-tailed Duck was with Slavonian Grebes and a Black-necked Grebe off Harlech. The northern end of Cardigan Bay can be an excellent place to see wintering seaducks and grebes, but it is underwatched compared to the north-facing coasts of Wales. A Black-throated Diver was off Llandudno’s North Shore and four Velvet Scoters off Llanddulas.

Spotted Redshanks, a Siberian Chiffchaff and a Jack Snipe were at RSPB Conwy on Sunday. Four Cattle Egrets fed near Llanfwrog, north of Valley, and another is on fields near Pwllheli golf course. A Little Gull dropped into RSPB Cors Ddyga briefly on Monday.

A consultation on lead ammunition closes on 10 December; conservation and shooting organisations are encouraging people to get involved. The Health & Safety Executive is seeking views on ending the use of lead shot, bullets and airgun pellets, which are toxic to birds that ingest the tiny fragments. Hunting groups have called for an end to use of lead shot by 2025, but an assessment by Cambridge University earlier this year reported that a voluntary approach had “little impact” among Pheasant shooters.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and the RSPB have campaigned for an end to lead in all ammunition (not only shot) for many years, and are encouraging participation in this consultation. Both organisations have set out their views and provided details of how to respond – see WWT website and RSPB website.