Week 7 – Cedar Waxwing

Finally!! To me waxwings have to be considered one of the more elegant songbirds (there are two species: Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings). They are seen in large flocks all over the United States in winter feeding mostly on berries and other fruit. While I have regularly observed waxwings in Boise this winter, I almost never have my camera with me and by the time I get back to where I spotted them, they’ve exhausted the berry supply and moved on. Frustrating. However, on Sunday I observed a small flock during an afternoon run and upon returning to my house immediately grabbed my camera, hoping they wouldn’t have moved on. Indeed they hadn’t and the sun was shining to boot! The small flock was sitting in a deciduous tree near a busy intersection seemingly oblivious to the cars speeding by. The roost tree was immediately adjacent to several large juniper’s heaping with ripe juniper berries and the birds were flitting back and forth between the trees. They all seemed totally oblivious to my presence and allowed for some great photo opportunities. Having to chose only one was difficult, but I liked how this individual was in the ‘classic’ waxwing pose.

Cedar Waxwing. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

You can view more Cedar Waxwing photos from Sunday on my flickr site including an extreme close-up! You can also view some additional photos from the last month that didn’t make it to the blog.