This week’s entry is one that I’ve been looking for, as a photo subject, for years. They’ve always passed through the areas I’ve lived in, and in fact can be found all over the US, but they tend to prefer specific conditions that I’ve never been in at the right time. But yesterday, success was to be had.
That’s a cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum,) among the coolest plumage of the birds to be found in the US, a great combination of the stark contrast of the mask colors and the airbrushed gradients of the rest of the bird, even getting a bit greenish on the rearmost undersides. Moreover, they have brilliant yellow tailtips and brilliant red tips to a handful of their wing feathers.
They’re also quite gregarious, and I first spotted some last week, congregating in a tree near the pond in a small flock of perhaps 8-10 individuals. This time, I had the camera and long lens in hand when I happened on this smaller flock, which was partaking of the dark indigo berries peeking in here. I only regretted not having the tripod along, because I would have obtained video of them feeding. They were not very far away and unconcerned with my presence, even when I dodged around a bit to reduce the number of intervening branches, but at least those were largely bare at this time of year. Full credit to the birds for appearing under clear skies and in an optimal light direction.
Their breeding areas are supposed to sit well north of here, so they will disappear shortly, perhaps even within a few days, and might not appear again until next winter – I have no baseline to work from, so we’re establishing that now I suppose. Meanwhile, I have to determine what tree it is that’s providing their food; I want to say juniper, but I have no confidence in that. Leaves would help with that ID, so it might wait a while.