Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Meet the Cedar Waxwing

I noticed them hanging about, 
high in the bare branches of the willow by the pond.  
Ordinary black birds, I thought, 




Nothing special about them, 
except for the way they swooshed in magnificent synchronized flight, 
circling up the Hollow, back again, 
twirling in Figure 8 formation 
before settling all together back in the tree. 



And then one morning, using my zoom, I snapped some photos.

Turns out they aren't black, and they're far from ordinary.
I think they might be my favorite bird now,
with their black eyeliner and gold-tipped garb.
Let me introduce you to the Cedar Waxwing.
(I love my zoom.)






Do you see that bit of yellow on the tail feathers? Amazing!




13 comments:

  1. You got some beautiful shots. They're wonderful birds. I don't seem them very often around here.. and never in flocks like this. Beautiful!

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  2. Wow - what gorgeous golden shots! Lovely.

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  3. Beautiful photos of the moon and these birds..really enjoyed you blog about your day away and the sights you saw.. Added myself as one of your followers..
    Have a colorful week!
    Ox
    D

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  4. Bravo, Bravo!! Magnificent! I have never seen one of these beautiful birds in person.

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  5. I think you may want to add a facebook button to your blog. I just bookmarked the site, although I had to complete it by hand. Just my $.02 :)

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  6. Thanks, everyone! Hope you get the experience of seeing them in person, too (although I've never gotten close enough to see them like this with my naked eye!) Dagmar, thanks for following!

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  7. You see, this is why I love photography. It captures things that you ordinarily wouldn't give a second thought about. Your shots are fantastic. Would love to see those birds around here.

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  8. LB, I feel the same way - I love that moment when my photos pop up on the computer. There's almost always a surprise or two!

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  9. Cedar waxwings are awesome. Nice shots of these birds. The first time I saw one was up in northern Montana. I thought it was a cardinal I'd never seen before. I wouldn't be surprised if they're related somehow.

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  10. What precious little ones, and such wonderful photographs of them!

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  11. what great shots !
    i love those birds...i think it's the little eye masks they wear that intrigues me the most !!

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  12. Thank you! Beth, their masks intrigue me, but also their yellow bellies and tail stripes totally surprised me!

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  13. Beautiful, Barbara. The last is stunning, just stunning. Proud songsters indeed!

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