Rare waxwings spotted in Halesowen

Nature lover and amateur photographer Derrick Guest cannot believe his luck after capturing dozens of waxwings during their rare visit to the Black Country to find food.

Armed with his trusty camera the 65-year-old couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of the winter-time migrants as they rested near his home in Halesowen.

A flock of the spiky-haired plumed birds gathered on a rooftop television aerial after feasting on berries from his garden.

He estimated there were as many as 50 of the birds, which have distinctive colourful crests, gathered in the same spot as he watched them. It was just phenomenal to see so many in one place," he said. "They have been eating the berries off the rowan trees in the garden.

"We often get blue and grey tits, greenfinches and goldfinches as well as robins,"said Mr Guest, who owns Towcraft garage in Birmingham Road, Blackheath.

Waxwings migrate to the UK from Scandinavia when food stocks further north begin to run outl.