birds of a feather...

On my last canoe ride, it's been raining cats and dogs for two days - I am a fair weather paddler, I spotted a flock of Waxwings. Cedar or Bohemian waxwings high up in the tree.

Lots to read about them: The Bohemian Waxwing is an irregular winter visitor from the far North. 

The above link features the sound they make, too. Call a high-pitched trill, rougher and lower pitched than that of Cedar Waxwing.

The Birds of NA has more info: Named for the nomadic ranging patterns of its winter flocks, the Bohemian Waxwing moves widely, seeking crops of winter fruits, and irregularly sweeps into regions to the south and east of its typical winter range.


Just glorious.

Their flock really hung out together.  Chickadees, they say, stay in a small, fixed flock and venture out and about for 20 acres.

Some (better birders than I!) are explaining, like Jayne, and the Stokes, that there is an abundance of food, birds are not flocking to feeders in more southerly locales, and that the birds have wide ranges for winter foraging. Now, I could be wrong, by I have heard folks say that if there is an abundance of food, we can expect a hard winter, since the flora knows to prepare. I'm just sayin'!!!



Of course, even the woodpeckers (which I thought only ate insects), have been at the feeders here in winter. The birds eat quite a variety of food: not just insects, but pine cone seeds, fruits and berries. And they seem to have a set route. I've noticed them popping around at the same time of day.



By the time I returned from my canoe, the sun was setting and the burnt sienna of the setting sun lit up the trees, bushes and water. The flock was still there. They winter in large flocks and eat insects, as well as seeds.

Cedar Waxwing is slightly smaller, lacks reddish under tail and white and yellow stripes on closed wing, and has a yellowish belly.

From Birds Forever, "The red appendages or vibrant 'sealing wax at the end of its secondary wings give this bird its name."

The blue jays, here, keep squirreling away the seeds. They come back and forth, hiding them in bark folds and nooks and crannies. The squirrels, in mid-winter, bury them in the snow piles on the deck. Others follow them and dig them up and take them away. It is a blessing to watch them. Better than TV!

Back on the deck, the flock was figuring out their next stop. They flitted back and forth while I vainly tried to capture them in flight! MANUAL FOCUS time!

For more critters:  Camera-Critters #85