Cedar Waxwing
I was out on the creek this evening and it was a beautiful end to a beautiful day. I am so grateful for every day that brings weather good enough for kayaking! Tonight, as I was about to pull in my kayak, I got a glimpse of a beautiful bird, one I’d never seen up-close before: a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). In fact, I got to see the male and female and four adult-size young! They were hunting in a cloud of flying insects, so they were difficult to describe in my journal, because they were moving so fast. Also, they were backlit so I was having a tough time getting a good grasp on their color. But finally, one came close enough so that I was able to glimpse a few traits that helped to positively I.D. it: pale yellow belly, warm brown head and upper body, beautiful crest, black mask, and yellow-tipped tail feathers. Quite lovely!
I was out on the creek this evening and it was a beautiful end to a beautiful day. I am so grateful for every day that brings weather good enough for kayaking! Tonight, as I was about to pull in my kayak, I got a glimpse of a beautiful bird, one I’d never seen up-close before: a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). In fact, I got to see the male and female and four adult-size young! They were hunting in a cloud of flying insects, so they were difficult to describe in my journal, because they were moving so fast. Also, they were backlit so I was having a tough time getting a good grasp on their color. But finally, one came close enough so that I was able to glimpse a few traits that helped to positively I.D. it: pale yellow belly, warm brown head and upper body, beautiful crest, black mask, and yellow-tipped tail feathers. Quite lovely!
I think Cedar Waxwings are the most elegant birds! We should be seeing a lot them now, feeding in flocks as they prepare to fly south.
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