Pretty Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings are gorgeous birds, as you can easily see by this photograph by Ken Thomas. (I don't know Ken personally but am much indebted to him for allowing Public Domain use of his beautiful photographs--http://kenthomas.us/)

Earlier, sometime this spring, I recall watching a group of waxwings roosting atop a large oak across the road from my house. I ran for my binoculars to observe them for a bit and was struck by what I considered odd behavior. From high in the crown of the tree, one bird would fly out a short distance, say, only a few dozen feet, and then swing back into the tree crown. Then another would fly out in similar fashion, only to fly directly back. It almost appeared as if they were on short tethers--allowed only so many feet from the roost.

Odd, I thought.

I recall trying to imagine their intent. For instance, were they catching insects in flight? Perhaps. Waxwings mostly eat berries but during the breeding season also supplement this food source with insects. Still, to my eyes, they didn't appear to be catching insects but . . . what then?

Fast forward to yesterday. I'm outside with the dogs several hundred feet from a small grove of old, tall hemlock trees. I see a bird fly out from the upper most crown of the largest tree and then fly back. On the bird's return another flies out a short distance and directly back. Followed by yet another. Based simply on their behavior, I wondered, are those Cedar Waxwing? I couldn't tell with my naked eyes and so aided them with binoculars, which hung from my neck.

Sure enough--three beautiful Cedar Waxwing came into focus. They perched as if posing for a portrait: one sat atop the highest possible vertical branch and two below on opposite horizontal branches, forming a perfect triangle.

I viewed them with admiration: such sleek, sophisticated birds with their black masks, outlined in white, and their conspicuous crests. Not to mention their beautiful colors and markings: reddish-brown above, yellow below, with yellow-tipped tail (or orange) and red tips to their secondaries (a waxy secretion from which the bird derives its name). Yes, the Cedar Waxwing is a striking bird.

I watched for a moment until many others waxwings swept up from their hiding places in the crown of a neighboring hemlock. They gracefully coalesced into a group and flew off and away.

Until next time . . . happy birding.


Georgia Anne