Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing
Hijacking hawthorn berries on a glorious autumn afternoon.
Posted by ahab at 3:29 AM
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5 comments:

Tom Hilton said...

This is perfect. Great capture.

November 10, 2010 at 8:52 AM
E-6 said...

Your avian efforts have been uniformly sublime, sir.

November 10, 2010 at 9:18 AM
ahab said...

Thanks!

He (or she) moved her neck preparing to gulp down the berry, so the head is a bit blurred. Otherwise it's pretty good, I was pleased.

It was a lucky catch, though I guess we make our own luck to some extent. Like the way I planted that tree fifteen years ago to attract such non-seed-eaters as catbirds and waxwings. It worked! But I've become this strange old birdwatcher...

I was shooting Robins, which by this time of year have dropped their territorial ambitions and are flocking, feeding and migrating together (many scores of them all together, though very defensive with each other and with me). I got some terrific shots of Robins too, and of immature Waxwings. But the adult Cedar Waxwing is one of my all-time favorite birds, so I posted her.

I was already in place when the Waxwings arrived and fed. I'd seen them traveling along with the Robins, sort of under their protection, over the preceding few days. Like the Robins they were on their guard and didn't stay long. So this was a lucky grab, to be so close and to have such a great perspective. You're seeing nearly the entire file.

Waxwings, BTW, are the communists of the bird world. They don't defend a territory, so they don't even have a song. They do have a call, a kind of softly slurred whistle, which they use to keep in touch with one another almost constantly. They pair bond and raise young together, but they move through territory and share food freely. Really interesting and beautiful birds. And quirky as hell.

November 10, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Generik said...

"...communists of the bird world."

That line is as good as your image. Thank you for that!

November 10, 2010 at 4:02 PM
Donna said...

tremendous!

November 12, 2010 at 7:20 AM

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