[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: Anyone seen waxwings in the Peidmont yet?
Hi Josh and all,
I had my first Waxwings of the fall in my yard yesterday. At first I was
watching the plentiful Robins that were alternating between perching
and feeding in the cedars. I thought I made out the silhouette of a single
Waxwing, with its "comb-backed" tuft, on a far off sweetgum, but convinced
myself that it was probably a cardinal. However I kept my eyes open. I
was rewarded with some great looks at other winter birds - a
White-Throated Sparrow, several Juncos, a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, a
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, some Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and even a couple
of Chipping Sparrows (do these stay on through the winter??) - as well as a
gorgeous adult Red Tailed Hawk and a male Cooper's cruising the treetops
trying to spot unwary prey.
Finally, my patience paid off - I looked up in a nearby pine, and
perching on a trumpet creeper vine was one Cedar Waxwing! It seemed
content to just rest there, but soon joined a cedar already full of many
of the aforementioned birds (well, not the hawks obviously). Then,
icing on the cake: looking behind me in a leafless tree hanging over
this corner of the field, I saw two female Purple Finches. WOW!! Both on
the same day during some most un-winterlike November weather. About ten
minutes later I saw a flow of 20 birds take flight across the field from
a stand of pines. I heard the characteristic wheezing call,
and looked up as they passed over me. Yep, all Cedar Waxwings!
All in all, a great day to be outside.
Ken Klapper
kklapper@acpub.duke.edu
Durham, NC