An Ear-full

 Song - Three Little Birds by Bob Marley & The Wailers

Last week I looked out of a window and I saw a flock of birds that were bigger than the song birds we normally get.  I thought they might be Cedar Waxwings as they were in an Oak tree and flying across our little lane to a Privet tree.  They were too far away to see their markings but they sure were acting like Waxwings. And besides I don't usually see Waxwings until January or February!

And sure enough yesterday they reappeared in my shade garden.  There are six of them in this photo. Can you spot them all?

As soon as I saw their yellow tail edge and that distinctive black eye makeup I knew it was them! And guess what a flock of Cedar Waxwings is called?

An "ear-full" or a "museum" of waxwings!

 

 

See the bird on the far left with the red tipped wings?  That is a small appendage on it's secondary feathers and is made out of red wax....therefore "wax wings".

 

I'm out to clean out that birdbath now as fruit eating birds get very thirsty.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend!

"Birds of a feather flock together"

--an old Welsh proverb

Love is In The Air

Song - When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along by Bing Crosby


California is finally getting some rain and the creek in our backyard roared all night long.  It's a good sound to hear as we have had too many years of drought.  When I woke up on Valentines day and looked out at our empty vegetable garden, I spotted these two love birds trying to decide if they should go out on a date.........

......or not.

And just yesterday I spotted a Robin in our Privet berries.......but look who is beneath him......a Cedar Waxwing.

Before I knew it the trees were full of Waxwings and Robins.

They were very good about taking turns eating as some of them 

would wait in this Oak tree on the other side of our yard and then when it was their turn, 

they would dive right into that clump of berries. It kinda felt like I was in that Hitchcock movie with birds multiplying by the second!

Their break consisted in getting a drink of water to wash down all the berries 

and then wait in a nearby tree.

"No winter lasts forever; 

no spring skips its turn."

--Hal Borland

Friends in High Places

Song - Winter by The Rolling Stones

This morning I woke to some very happy birdsong.  Our Oak tree was full of Robins and Starlings and a bird that sounds like a rusty hinge, Flickers and Hawks!

But if you look closely at the photo above, you will notice someone else in the berry bushes......in the upper left corner is part of a Cedar Waxwing.  They left our garden last week when a Hawk flew at them and haven't been back until today!!

The Privet tree was full of them and they let me set my tripod up quite close.

As I walked around our garden, I noticed some other delights of Winter.....above is a patch of Hellebores which is blooming in our shade garden.

And a nest up in the Wisteria arbor - I never noticed it until all the leaves dropped off......

And a little hummer enjoying some sunshine.

 And not one but two different Flicker's enjoyed the Privet berries too!

The bird above doesn't have the typical red patch on his cheek.

 But in the late afternoon light I caught sight of a Northern Flicker in all his beauty.

 He wanted to make sure I photographed his "good side"!

"And from Humming-Bird to Eagle, 
the daily existence of every bird 
is a remote and bewitching mystery. "

~Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 
"The Life of Birds," Out-door Papers, 1868

The Bandits Are Back

Song - Blackbird by Paul McCartney

The berry bandits that is.......Cedar Waxwings with their marvelous bandit masks on!

 They usually appear near the end of January as that is when the Privet berries ripen.

 Today happened to be a nice sunny day and as I set up my camera even more birds began to arrive.

I was outside taking these photos for about half an hour.

 Suddenly they all flew off as a small sized hawk flew directly at them!

 This isn't a great shot but it does show the bright yellow tail tip and the red wax color
under their wings. And that's how he got his name - "Waxwing"

 The hawk came in so swiftly that I didn't even get a change to take his picture.

It's been several hours now and the Waxwings have not returned.

Hopefully tomorrow but it's supposed to rain.

"Faith is the bird that feels the light 

when the dawn is still dark."

--Rabindranath Tagore

Just Fishing

So sorry if you receive this twice but I accidentally posted this on my painting blog instead of my personal blog!

Song - Belted Kingfisher sound

Monday morning I woke to a gathering of Cedar Waxwings on the bare tree in our backyard creek.  Since the sun was behind them I had trouble getting a good photo.

But trust me, they were Cedar Waxwings with their beautiful eyeliner showing.....

On Tuesday, as the sun was setting, a Belted Kingfisher landed on the same tree and posed for about 20 minutes. You can spot him right?

  He even stayed there while I ran inside for my camera and found a better spot to photograph him from. 

 Mr. B and I hear them all day long going up and down the creek looking for fish but it is rare for one to sit this long.

Thanks little guy as it was a good way to end my day!

"Nature always wears the color of the spirit"

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

An Invasion

Song - Bird on a Wire by Willie Nelson


Saturday at noon we were invaded.....

...by a little Chickadee....

And a Cedar Waxwing.

Then two.....

They came to pick the ripe berries off of our Privet tree.

They hung upside down to find the perfect berry

And they came by the hundreds.....

No wonder why we have Privet seedlings coming up all over our garden!

Yes.....I'm talking about you Mister!

Two Waxwings each with a mouthful !!!

A Robin tried to join the berry picking but left shortly after he arrived...

...as these guys had taken over!

This guy has hair like Woody Woodpecker.

Can you tell that I was trying to avoid work and chose to be entertained by these flying beauties?

Because Friday was so calm in the trees..... 

Did you spot him?

"The early bird gets a choice which, to me, 

is more important than the worm itself."

--Stacey Alcorn