I’ve heard all about the wonderful Cedar Waxwings, but until today I hadn’t seen them in my own yard. We’ve had a giant Yaupon in front of our house since we moved here, so I figured this had more to do with me not being around when the birds were migrating, rather than their actual absence from our property each year.
This afternoon, I was on my way out the door when I saw them. And I dropped everything and ran back into the house for the camera. For the next 20 minutes I delighted in capturing picture after picture of these gorgeous birds, and I enjoyed watching their antics.
For one thing, they truly are birds of voracious appetites. When one talks about someone who eats like a bird, most likely they aren’t referring to these gluttons. They feasted on berry after berry as a group, flew off to a nearby oak to sing and digest a bit, and then flew right back to the yaupon for more fruity treats.
A few would gather on a berry-laden branch all together, hanging upside-down and enjoying the branch swing until it slowed enough that more berries could be wolfed down.
I’m truly amazed out how gorgeous these birds are. I had no idea. The yellow belly and yellow-tipped tail blend beautifully with their graceful tan, brown, and black feathers, and that mischievous black mask made us tease them about stealing our berries.
They didn’t mind us around at all, and they completely ignored the cat, who had slipped outside when I rushed in for the camera. In fact, they seemed a very curious, gregarious bunch. I read that these bold birds will even grab a bit of human hair while building nests in the north. Sometimes they get so intoxicated on the sugary berries that they’ll fly drunk and do a bit of a stagger walk — I was watching, but my birds apparently held their own quite well.
By the time I returned home today, the birds were gone. I hope another flock will pass through soon!
Meredith,
Such an exciting day seeing all those waxwings! It’s been at least a year since I saw waxwings. Once I saw about 8 of them passing berries down a limb they all were perched on, awesome!
I read that they will do that, passing berries to each other along a line. What a friendly, sharing group of birds! We had so many berries on our Yaupon that it was a big free-for-all and gorge-fest.
What great photos you caught, Meredith! Their favorite tree is over the fence in my neighbor’s neighbors’ yard and I can’t zoom in on them. In Illinois we saw the passing-down thing with juniper berries.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Those ARE beautiful birds, and I love that bandit mask. I hope to see some in my yard soon. We did spot a screech owl in our owl box this afternoon, which was really exciting. I’ll post pics soon. Also spotted a flock of green monk parakeets at a bird feeder in Crestview the other day. It’s remarkable to see those tropical birds flying wild in Austin.
Annie, how neat — I really hope to get to witness that one day! I’d love to see the birds in action up north, too — sounds like they are a true pleasure wherever they are (though I did read that their berry-poop is rather gross, haha).
Pam, I’m so jealous but very excited about your screech owl. We still haven’t built our box (the school project required some woodworking), so I’m sure we’re past the window of getting any owls this year, but I’ll be thrilled to see your owl photos! Those green monk parakeets are so much fun to see. I haven’t seen them at a feeder, but I’ve seen a flock in a tree several times.
Those are some great shots.
They are beautiful birds. And, they come in such big flocks.
At our old house, we used to enjoy watching them in a neighbor’s mulberry trees. Those are messy trees, so we were glad they were in their yard, but we could enjoy the birds.
We always took it as a sign that spring was near, when the Cedar Waxwings came through. Hard to tell that, today.
Linda @ Patchwork Garden
The cedar waxwings must be confused by all this snow and sleet in our area right now. But at least there are lots of berries around for them to eat. Hope you are having a pretty snow day, Linda!
Meredith, great pictures of the visit from a flock passing through! They are indeed beautiful birds. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing too many up close like that in my life, so I really enjoyed the visual record.
I recently read that they do the pass-down with juniper berries because the seed coat is so hard to digest that otherwise the berries just pass right through. Passing them from beak to beak serves to loosen up or remove the tough casing, so it’s cooperative meal prep really. 🙂
Very interesting and cool. I hope they take turns on who’s up front, like in cycling!
Very cool pics! It always amazes me to see birds in large flocks like that, especially birds that aren’t as common as sparrows and doves. Do you have a really long zoom lens or did you climb the tree?
They were in my neighborhood on the east side this morning. So beautiful… first time I’ve ever seen one. Had to hit the internet and figure out what it was.
Aren’t they fun? I feel so fortunate to have seen them in my yard — they zoomed in and zoomed out, like a flash!