Birds saw between sticks close to lake (6,5)
I believe the answer is:
canada geese
'birds' is the definition.
(Canada goose is an example)
'saw between sticks close to lake' is the wordplay.
'saw' becomes 'adage' (saw can mean a proverb or saying).
'between' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'sticks' becomes 'canes' (cane is a kind of stick).
'close to' suggests the final letters (the 'close' to the word).
The final letter of 'lake' is 'e'.
'adage' put inside 'canes' is 'canadagees'.
'canadagees'+'e'='CANADA GEESE'
(Another definition for canada geese that I've seen is " winged creatures".)