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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Cedar Waxwings

Another sign of the changing seasons is the departure and arrival of various bird species. The ubiquitous (in the winter) bufflehead have now all moved north. Barn and violet-green swallows are now abundant. Turkey vultures are back and can be seen circling overhead. Yesterday I heard my first Swainson's thrush signing, a song I truly associate with summer.

And today, the trees on both side of the street were absolutely teeming with cedar waxwings:


Down the hatch! A lot of them were feeding on the abundant English Ivy berries.

7 comments:

Warren Baker said...

What a great looking bird the Waxwing is. We had an invasion of them over here last winter, but none showed up on my small patch.

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

Lucky you Monika, like Warren I missed them all here too (Bohemian's not Cedars this side and news just in of a yankee Laughing Gull at our local reserve this arvo!!

Cheers

D

Unknown said...

Beautiful bird and the first image is a lovely image with neat blurred background.

Unknown said...

Beautiful birds... Interesting name as well for them..

Monika said...

I haven't ever come across a Bohemian waxwing yet myself, but the cedars are very common around here. They were hard to photograph since they were staying in the shade under the boughs of the trees! Either that, or up way high at the tips of the branches out of "photographable" range.

Apparently the name waxwing comes from the waxy looking red tips on the secondary feathers.

Vickie said...

Gorgeous images! You've got some real green going on there! The canopy around the bird is magical.

Heather said...

I am so enchanted with these birds. I've never been able to catch a photo of one, but I certainly enjoy seeing everyone else's photos of them.