The bird watching continues. This day, it's the cedar waxwings that have captured my attention.
|At one point, there were nine perched here together.|
It's a beautiful bird and right up there with the male and female cardinals on my list of favorites. Until two years ago, I'd only ever seen them in photographs. Then I saw one at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
an earlier post.
It was a bright, sunny day today and the cedar waxwings were out in great numbers. If I had to give an estimate of how many I saw at one time, perched all over a large oak tree in the back yard, I'd say about 30! The sun shining on their fluffy pale yellow bellies was beautiful.
Cedar waxwings eat mostly fruits and berries. If the fruit is old and has begun to ferment, they can become intoxicated and even die from eating too many.
|I'm not sure what these cedar waxwings are eating from the roof of the |
They are native to the entire United States, with them being present year-round in the northern half of the US. In summer, they reach far into Canada and in winter, will go as far south as the northern tip of South America. Their high-pitched song is distinctive and many times you'll hear them before you see them.
A red, waxy secretion at the tips of some of their feathers gives them the "waxwing" part of their name. The function of these secretions isn't known, but may have something to do with attracting a mate.
|Berries on our Washington hawthorn tree|