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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Cedar Waxwings: Part ONE!!


In the spring and fall, we are visited by Cedar Waxwings.
They are fascinating birds.
They LOVE to gobble up all our our apple blossoms in the spring and then when they return in the fall, they eat up the apples right off the trees!!


We heard them come in to the apple orchard.
I caught these two on one branch:
I was cursing the lighting because it was kind of foggy out and the sun was straight ahead, making it hard to get the birds clear in the photo.
But they obliged me and flew around to the front yard, into those apple trees instead.

Where the lighting was perfect:

I love the little crest on their heads.



See how his feathers stick up on their head?
I love it!:



Here is a close up, so you can see the colors on him.
He has a little red by his eye and his tail feathers are trimmed in yellow:




There was a LOT of squawking going on as they were fighting with each other as to who was allowed to peck on the apples:




See him eyeing up the apple?
He is beautiful!:

Stay tuned for the next blogpost for more shots of them.
As usual I took a zillion shots of them, so I had to divide the blogpost into Part One and Part Two.
*P.S.: A reminder: I have pre-published the last few blogposts because as you read this, I am gone to Florida to visit my daughter. Thanks for continuing to read my blog while I have been away....I will read your comments on the road, and try and catch up with all of your blogs off and on during the trip and when I get back. Miss you all! But you can bet I am busy in Florida taking some tropical shots for future blogposts for you all!!

18 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Cute post of the Cedar Waxwings... I saw my first group of them when we were visiting a waterfall in Tullahoma, TN. There they were ---lots of them in one of the fruit trees near the water. I was almost more excited to see the Waxwings than I was to see the waterfall... Oops!!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

DJan said...

Congratulations on #200! I just saw that it happened when I came over to see our latest pictures. That last one, oh my, I am awed. This is such a gorgeous shot that I am again out of superlatives...

Anonymous said...

Hope your having a great trip- the last picture of the bird is just beautiful. Do you know your missing a big snow?
vickie

SquirrelQueen said...

Congratulations on reaching 200 followers. You have a fantastic blog with beautiful photography, many more will follow.

I love the little Cedar Waxwings, they are so cute. All of your photos are great but the last one is stunning.

Judy

Brian Miller said...

wow such beauty...they are so soft and smooth looking...and then the crest! hope they enjoyed their munch!

Ellie Kings said...

Great pics! Enjoy your time in Florida! oooh I'm jealous!

Unknown said...

Enjoy Florida--we have lots of snow due tomorrow!

The Retired One said...

Betsy: I would have been the same as you..more excited over the birds. ha

DJan: Woo HOO! 200! I am SO pumped. I am so honored that each and every one of you read my blog. I am so happy.

Vickie: Yes, we saw it on the Weather Channel. And I think where we live, they are getting a blizzard. We are wondering if we will get home on Sunday or not. ha

SquirrelQueen:Thanks so much! I am SO excited about reaching 200 followers, I can't even tell you how much! I am so grateful to all of you. I thought of you yesterday, because we were at a nature park and a little squirrel kept peeking at us from around a tree..I took photos of course, and will post them when I get home.

Brian: they sure did a number on the apples...they ate almost all of the remaining ones on the limbs.. ha

Ellie: thanks so much. We FINALLY got warm weather and sun today here. It was 76 and we were at the beach, but the wind was still kind of chilly there. I am not complaining. ha'

Eva: I know! We have been watching the Weather Channel in horror. ha

Anonymous said...

We occasionally have the waxwings in our bird bath; they like to play in the fountain part. They are the softest, smoothest looking bird I think there is. You sure timed your shots right!!! Love the chewing out match!! The last one is PERFECT!!

Bernie said...

I hope you are enjoying the palm tress....we are havng arctic freeze here, -38 and the wind is brutal. We have tons of snow with more on the way tonight, I cannot help but envy you sweetie so enjoy that beautiful State.
These birds are really cute Joan, and you captured them perfectly.
Luv ya....:-)

Jenn Jilks said...

Soooo beautiful!

The Retired One said...

Cathy: Thanks! The next post has clearer pictures because they were taken in the front yard with less fog and better lighting. I love the birds and they make the cutest singing song while they are eating the apples!

Bernie: I have been watching the Weather Channel and both the U.P and Canada is getting hit bad with the snow. We will go into shock when we get home, I am sure. IF we can get home...we will fly into Detroit on Sunday and we hope the blizzards are past by then. It finally warmed up here today...it is supposed to be 78 and cloudy. We haven't seen much sun, but hey, I will take the 78 over blizzards until we have to go home. ha It was so nice to see my daughter too.

Jenn: Yes, they are beautiful birds!

L. D. said...

They are such a beautiful bird. You are so lucky to have them. We only have them down by the river 6 miles away, and they don't come into town. You have some great compositions.

Rick (Ratty) said...

I've never seen a cedar waxwing before. They really are beautiful birds. Hopefully they'll show some mercy on your apples in the future.

The Retired One said...

Jenn: yes, they are beautiful birds!~

L.D.: They are kind of shy birds, but our apples in the trees lured them and they were so busy, they didn't pay attention to me and my camera. Watch for the next post, I got even better shots of them in the front yard w/o the fog!

Ratty: if you go near apple blossomed trees in the spring, or cherry trees, you will probably see them...they are gorgeous birds!

Alan Burnett said...

Lovely pictures, especially that last one which is a beauty.

wendyytb said...

Wow! Wonderful pictures.... I have not seen these birds in our neck of the woods. I have seen very few birds but we have had some horrible weather! (Poor little things!)

The Retired One said...

Alan: Thanks so much!! I loved catching them in my trees!

Wendytb: I am really worried about our birds at home. When we left there wasn't much snow and since we have been gone for 9 days, the U.P. has gotten 18 inches of snow and is very cold now..we haven't been there to feed them so we hope they are okay!

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REMINDER: All photographs on this blog are COPYRIGHTED.
Please do not copy any of my photographs (or narratives) without my permission! All pictures will be tracked for copyright violations.

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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